Restoring Balance
by WinterCrystal1009
Summary: For two years, the guardians were clueless about Jack Frost's identity. They still are. However, with the prophecy of Ragnarök permeating the air, secrets are being revealed from all parties involved. Not only that, the world is relying on Jack's strength in this battle of wits between light and dark. If only calling the victors of Ragnarök was so simple. (1st in a set series)
1. Prologue

**Hi there! I basically decided to rewrite my prologue instead of updating hehe. All I know is that this has got to be much better than the original! Hope you enjoy, and follow/fav if you love this! (PS: Look into bottom PM for starred stuff)**

 **Btw, I don't own the cover for this fanfic. Credit for cover goes to original artist.**

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(Norway 1000 ACE)

Snow fell gently, occasionally catching onto the needles of towering pine trees, moonlight causing the precipitation to glitter. The secluded area served to create a calm, peaceful atmosphere that the fighting forces on the inclined surface promptly quashed.

One of the fighters, a young woman, shouted over the masses of shadows surrounding her, "Tsar! Fearling behind you!"

Her comrade, a short, chubby man with a tuft of curled, white hair proudly defying gravity on his bald head, turned around and shot a beam of moonlight at the shadow creature, instantly incinerating it. His name was Tsar Lunar XII.

"I'm perfectly fine, Emily Jane. All you need to do is watch over yourself!"

The black-haired woman, Emily Jane, simply rolled her eyes as she washed away all the shadowy creatures, commonly known as fearlings, with waves of water.

"I am managing just fine, Tsar. In fact, you should watch out for yourself," Emily Jane retorted when she slashed a fearling behind Tsar to smithereens, her light green, ankle low dress rippling with the movement.

"I knew that!"

Emily Jane grinned, flicking a strand of her straight, long hair behind her ear. "Sure you have, Tsar."

Tsar opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by another voice.

"May you two stop with your bickering and vanquish these fearlings?"

A blonde woman, slightly older than Emily and Tsar, fought her way through the fearlings, clearing the field with her swords.

Tsar shrugged. "Sorry Themis, you know how feisty Em can get."

"How feisty…excuse me?" Emily Jane stared into Tsar's eyes. "At least I am not the dimwitted spouse that needs rescuing every time."

Two daggers flew past Tsar and Emily Jane, hitting the fearlings creeping up behind them.

Themis grabbed the sword strapped to her cascading, blue dress. "You two are a dimwitted couple, that's what. Zeus and I, at least, never quarreled in a battle field like you two!"

At that exact moment, a white haired teen flew towards them, her white, knee high dress ripped to shreds. Her pale legs and arms were covered with purpling bruises and dripping cuts.

"Anemone!" The three below her yelled.

The girl, identified as Anemone, landed beside them, swaying on her bare feet. "Hii—whoa."

She would've fallen to the ground if Themis hadn't caught her just then.

"Why have we taken the child with us?"

Themis shook her head as she tore off a piece of her dress and wrapped it around a large gash on Anemone's forearm, the fabric absorbing the blood like a thirsty sponge.

Anemone glared at the woman holding her. "I'm not a kid!"

Emily Jane interjected before things could go out of hand, "Anemone, why did you come here?"

"Oh, yeah!" Anemone shoved herself away from Themis's hold. "I found the place where Hel and Holler are!"

"You have?" Tsar clamped his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Show us where they are."

"Okay, follow me!"

With that, Anemone slipped out of Tsar's grasp and shot off in the wind, the others following. Once they reached a clearing on the top of a cliff, Anemone slowly drifted down. The teen pulled Tsar, Emily Jane and Themis behind a tree, pointing out the two lone figures standing near the edge.

"There's Hel and Holler," Anemone whispered, "Are you guys ready?"

Tsar replied, "I'm not sure if Emily and I are. We've never actually fought with death deities before."

"Relax, Tsar," Emily Jane said, "we can handle them. At least Themis and Anemone have seen them before."

"Well, in negotiations with my dad," Anemone added.

Themis deadpanned to Anemone. "Regardless, we shall defeat these hot headed imbeciles."

"Hot headed imbeciles, hmm?"

The Quartet spun around to face a young woman whose blood-red dress stood out against her pale white skin and skull necklace. Beside her was a grayish, middle-aged man, dressed in a black cloak as he leaned on a bone cane topped with a human skull. Hel and Holler had spotted the Quartet's hiding place.

Anemone backed up into a tree as her other companions stood their ground.

"Oh look," Holler teased, cape fluttering in Anemone's defense wind, "isn't that one of Boreas's children? The troublesome wind sprite who cannot shut her mouth?"

A shadow slithered from the tree and touched Anemone's cheek, eliciting a small whimper from the girl. The tendril soon hardened, shackling her neck.

Hel replied, "It appears so, Holler. What would daddy say if he discovered that his daughter was plotting against him?"

That was when Tsar snapped, blasting the shadow around Anemone's neck with a moonbeam. "Who told you that we'd let you two take her?!"

Hel chuckled. "And you claimed we were the hot headed imbeciles. Tell me, is there really any chance that two spirits, a sprite, and one oracle Titan can stop us when countless gods could not?"

"There is."

A flash of steel was the only warning for the deities to dodge the projectile, yet two fearlings managed to shield them in time.

However, Emily Jane managed to fling Hel into a tree with a whip made of plants; Tsar cocooned Hel in a ball of light.

"Hel!" Holler screamed, unsheathing his Ulfberht sword ***(1)** , "You shall regret what you have done!"

A legion of fearlings erupted from the shadows of the trees, rushing at the Quartet. Anemone blocked the creatures with her winds as Themis squared stray fearlings with her daggers. This left Tsar and Emily Jane with Holler, who immediately dashed to the clearing.

"I see that you two passed through my fearlings," Holler seethed, "It won't be as easy to defeat me."

Tsar swung his Ingelrii sword ***(2)** at Holler, who blocked the attack with an obsidian shield that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Vines erupted from the ground, only to be diced by Holler's weapon.

"You believed that it would be that simple to capture me? Ha!"

Holler slashed at Tsar's white tunic, staining the fabric with Tsar's own blood. A shadow roped up Emily Jane, effectively squashing her control on the elements.

Even with the injury, Tsar continued fighting. He once again attacked, this time piercing Holler's forearm.

"I see that you still have some fight left, Tsar." Holler nodded, approvingly. "You are not as weak as other warriors who fall after one blow."

Tsar responded, "Well, I'm just special."

"Then," Holler drawled, launching himself at Tsar, "Pitch chose the right specimen for Hel's Fearling Prince."

Tsar's Ingelrii clashed with Holler's Ulfberht.

The duel continued for at least half an hour, metal striking against metal for the umpteenth time as the two men struggled to determine a winner. The fight was ended when Holler buried his sword into Tsar's side.

The man collapsed in pain, kneeling down so that he didn't completely drop to the ground. Holler yanked his weapon from Tsar's flesh, swatting the blood onto his victim's face.

"Now, I have never been so challenged before! To think you haven't even unlocked your full potential power."

Holler squatted, staying eye level with Tsar. He cupped Tsar's bloody chin, forcing the spirit to look into his black irises. "Quite a shame that your life is leeching away. It would have been entertaining to see that magic whither in my hands."

Holler rose from his crouched position, towering over Tsar, who was smiling softly.

The full moon, that had been blocked by shadows prior to the mini duel, now shone brighter than before, moonlight cascading down to the field. The beams lifted Tsar up in their gentle embrace as they healed all of his injuries. The only indication that Tsar nearly died was the large bloodstain on his right side.

The spirit's eyes started glowing a harsh white. "There is one thing you've forgotten, Holler."

Tsar shot a beam of white light at Holler, another at the bonds holding his beloved. Emily Jane broke free from the shadow's hold and ensnared the weakened god in a tangle of vines.

Tsar stood in front of Holler. "You may be strongest in the dark, but I'm even stronger in the moonlight."

Just on time, Anemone soared towards the couple, dragging Themis behind. The sprite laughed triumphantly. "I told you they were here!"

"Alright." Themis rolled her blue eyes. "May you put me down now, Anemone?"

Anemone complied and gently placed Themis in between Tsar and Emily Jane. The girl landed on the other side of Emily Jane.

Themis glanced at her comrades, bluntly ignoring the wounds they had. "Ready?"

Anemone turned to Themis. "For what?"

"To imprison Holler, of course," Themis answered, "I need for you three to share your power with me. I am too weak to bind him."

Once the other three understood what they had to do, they all joined hands, pouring their magic into Themis. None expected for Themis to radiate the green aura she did then.

With her eyes shining bright green, body surrounded by a hazy, jade mist, Themis commanded her friends, "Repeat after me."

Thus, the Quartet ended up reciting a Greek chant, "Με μας ενωμένα δύναμη, θα φυλακίζουν Holler, ο Νορβηγός Θεός του Θανάτου και της Καταστροφής, μέχρι να έρθει η ώρα για να τον αφήσουν."

The mist peeled away from Themis to form a tomb made of imperial gold. Emily Jane willed the vines to toss the struggling Holler into the container, which caused the tomb to instantly snap shut, sealing the bound death god inside. Green lettering carved itself onto the lid, as if by an invisible hand.

The inscription read,

 _The time for Ragnarök will appear_

 _Only the child of moon and nature can stop the fear_

 _Their frosted blood is the key to light or darkness_

 _Which shall raise Destruction, who is heartless_

 _In order to restore balance_

 _Mighty heroes are to be challenged_

With a rumbling sound, the ground slowly absorbed the prison, transporting it to an unknown location.

Themis smiled. "Congratulations, we all did something that all the other gods combined could not accomplish: imprisoning Holler."

Instead of celebrating, Tsar frowned. "Isn't there a catch to this type of magic?"

Themis's rare smile dropped. "Yes."

"What is it, Themis?" Anemone questioned.

The Titan bit her lip. "One of our offspring is cursed to bring back Holler. From the prophecy, I would say that fate chose Tsar Lunar XII's and Emily Jane's child."

"What?!" Emily Jane shrieked, "One of our kids!"

Tsar slowly stroked Emily's arm. "Relax Em, I know that our baby will do the right thing."

"Also, he or she shall become a hero." Themis added.

Whatever peace Tsar brought to Emily Jane was blasted away by Themis's declaration. "I DO NOT WANT MY CHILDREN TO BE DAMN HEROES WITH GRIEF FILLED LIVES!"

Emily Jane promptly lowered her voice, "I wanted them to live normal, peaceful lives. Now, because I decided not to fight alongside the Guardians in their fight against my father, my offspring are cursed to continue this wretched game. At least we captured Hel and Holler."

Anemone scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, messing with her short cropped hair. "Ummm, about that...I think she escaped."

"Excuse me?!" Emily Jane faced Anemone, anger sketching her features. "Are you telling me that the person we truly came for is missing?"

Without waiting for a response, Emily gripped onto Tsar's arm and furiously shot off into the sky, stunning the two left at the field.

"Aww, c'mon." Anemone pouted, breaking the silence between herself and the Titan. "Jackson would have been the perfect name for their first baby. Jackson Overland. Isn't it super adorbs, Themis?"

"No, it is not 'super adorbs', and we need to catch up with Emily Jane before she creates a tornado," Themis responded coldly.

Anemone merely shrugged. "Hmph, you didn't have to be so grumpy about it." A mischievous smirk grew on her face. "Though, if you really insist on trailing them…" Abruptly, Anemone grabbed Themis's arm and soared off.

Little did they know that, in the battlefield they just left, a fluttering, black cape, was promptly snatched away by a shadowy hand.

 **•–•–•–•–•–•–•–** **•–•–•–•–•–•–•–** **•–•–•–•–•–•–•–** **•–•–•–•–•–•–•**

 **(Info copied off of wiki for first two. Sue me, I'm too lazy xD)**

 ***(1) Medivial sword made out of rare high carbon steel** **found in Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries. One side of the blade had** **+VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+ carved into the metal.** **The reverse side of the blade is inlaid with a geometric pattern, usually a braid pattern between vertical strokes. Similar to a cross of the Viking sword and a high Medivial knightly sword.**

 ***(2)** **The Ingelrii group of Viking swords are characterised by their blade inscriptions, stylised as INGELRII, INGELRD or INGELRILT. They are somewhat younger than the better known (and better attested) Ulfberht group, and they continued to be made until somewhat later into the 12th century.**

 ***(3) English translation: With our united power, we will imprison Holler, the Norse God of Death and Destruction, until the time comes for him to be released.**

 **I understand that this is a really long prologue, but what'd you expect from a battle scene?**

 **Btw, before I forget, I have gotten ideas for this fanfic from T** **he Darkness Series by Frostofsummer & T** **he Attack on Winter and Summer Series by Catgirl1995.**

 **These authors are both incredible and frostofsummer actually told me the Darkness Series will get published as in a book soon! Plz check these stories out and stay tuned for more updates!**


	2. Chapter 1

**It's been forever since I last updated but that's because school just likes to torture me with work. I'm seriously going to try to update timely like every week IF I CAN. Idek why but 8th grade overwhelms me with so much work, it takes until midnight for me to finish. Enough excuses, here's the first official chapter!**

 *****4/8/17 Update: I've changed the setting to the year 2014 because it felt more plausible with all my plans. Sorry for those in advance if you actually noticed that xD*****

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(Burgess, Pennsylvania 2014)

A small toddler, around five years old, peered out her bedroom window. Earlier, she was playing multiple games, her ruffled, dirty-blonde hair and Easter themed pajamas were messed up even more than usual. She continued staring till it began to snow.

Squealing, she ran out of the bedroom and into her brother's, Jamie Bennett.

"Woah Sophie! What's going on?" The brunette placed his pencil on top of his math homework.

Sophie screamed out, "IT'S SNOWING!"

"Wait, what?!" Jamie spun towards the window, excitement etched over his face. "Soph, you know what this means?"

"SNOW DAY!" Sophie jumped, creating a ruckus as she tripped over Jamie's bed.

Jamie laughed while Sophie tried standing up. "True, but it's better than that!"

Sophie rubbed her chin while she thought. "Jack! Jack's here! I wanna see Jack!"

"Okay Soph, as soon as I finish this suckish geometry homework." Jamie slammed his pencil onto the oak desk. "Ugh!"

Just then, a snowball splattered on Jamie's window. A white haired teen, dressed in centuries-old twine pants as well as a blue hoodie frosted at the sleeves, floated nearby, holding his Shepherd's staff in his right hand.

"What's holding you up kiddo? I didn't make the snow for nothing, you know."

Jamie rushed to the window, opening it so the immortal could enter. Once he came in, Jamie promptly shut the opening.

"Homework," Jamie groaned once his guest settled down, "Mom made a rule saying I have to finish it before playing just because I didn't do my homework a couple of times!"

The teen, Jack Frost, quirked a brow. "Really? How much is a couple of times?"

"Uhhhh," Jamie paused, counting on his fingers, "25 since January? Still, it's a Saturday!"

Jack chuckled, "Well then mister, finish that up quickly before I get bored."

Jamie took his pencil, pointing it at Jack, who sat on top of Jamie's bed with Sophie in his lap. "That's the thing! I'm stuck with this last math problem!"

"Let me see if I could help."

"Umm, I don't think you could solve this," Jamie told Jack.

Jack rolled his blue eyes, outstretching his hand. "Just give me the paper, Jamie."

Thus, the sixth grader gave the rest of his homework to the immortal teen over three hundred years old.

Jack scanned through the diagram. "Pencil." Jamie handed him the wooden tool.

After scribbling down numbers and angles for a bit, Jack passed the worksheet back, the answer written down with detailed work and some frost doodles.

Jamie stared at his elder which got Jack nervous.

"What?" Jack asked.

Jamie blinked owlishly, looking back at the sheet. "How'd you solve this?!"

"Simple, just find the height of the triangle and the rest is set," Jack explained.

"Wow, you do know more than history!"

Jack blankly stared at the kid. "Really. You know, just because nobody sees me doesn't mean I don't learn some stuff you guys do. Anyway, I made the work your level since I've seen how that teacher grades things." His nose scrunched up. "Ugh, he's such a sourpuss too."

Jamie giggled. "Nobody thinks he has a social life out of school."

"Got that right," Jack scoffed, "Now, are you done?"

"Yep."

From that one word, Sophie jumped out of Jack's lap and tugged the two downstairs, stomping on each step excitedly.

"Snow! Snow! Snow!"

Jamie laughed as they were still going down the stairwell. "Okay, but mom would kill us if we went without some jackets."

"Jamie, Sophie, you two alright?" A woman called from the kitchen once they reached the living room.

Jamie responded, "Yeah mom, just going out with Jack Frost!"

"Oka—ay!" Their mother drawled, "Tell him I said hi. Before you go, did you finish your school work?"

"Yes, mooooom." Jamie snatched a light blue jacket plus a smaller, hot pink overcoat from a coat rack beside the door and two pairs of woolen pants, dressing himself and Sophie up. "Ready Jack!"

Mrs. Bennett added, "Be safe!"

"We will!" Jamie swung open the door, stepping out onto the with Sophie in tow.

"Oh and Jamie," Mrs. Bennett's voice held a faint twinge of nervousness mixed with remorse, "don't…"

"Go on the pond or in the forest!" Jamie shouted back, "I know!"

The cinnamon haired woman walked into her living room. "Well then, have fun."

Jack replied outside, even though he knew the woman probably wouldn't hear him, "I promise on that!"

Jack threw a snowball at his first believer and scampered off on the winds, Jamie chasing after him, Sophie tagging alongside her brother.

After a while, Jack slowed down purposely, allowing Jamie to catch up. "You know, it'd be even more fun if your friends were out."

Jamie panted, "Ye…ah… got any ideas?"

"You know my idea." With a whisk of his staff, Jack made a pile of his signature icy projectiles. "Go ahead."

Jamie and Sophie smirked, grabbing an armful while running down the street towards a two story home.

"Caleb! Claude! Snow day!" Jamie yelled as Sophie pelted the twins' bedroom window with snowballs.

Jack zoomed past, two girls, one with ash brown hair and the other with reddish brown locks, following beside him as they sled in the streets on top of the ice that directed the two. "Jamie, hurry up!"

"Guys, get Monty and I'll meet you guys at the park!"

"Okay!" The reddish brown haired girl, Pippa, shouted back, trying to keep her green beanie from falling off as she left.

"Jack's here!" He fired another snowball, the object plunking off the glass surface.

The window finally opened, a chocolate skinned boy poking his head out, glaring at the two siblings. "What is it Jamie? We were sleeping!"

Jamie stared back, eyes wide. "Woah, it's 2!"

"Am?" Another boy, a duplicate to the other tanned boy, asked.

"Suuuure and I'm suddenly a spirit."

"Cool!" The new boy, Claude, replied.

His twin, Caleb, facepalmed. "No! He's being sarcastic."

"I know Caleb, I was joking." Claude laughed. "Okay, we're comin'! Where to?"

Sophie squealed, "The park!"

"Meet you there!" Caleb bellowed.

For fun, Jamie and Sophie struck them each in the face with snowballs, earning shouts in return. They both dashed off, heading towards Burgess Park.

Once they arrived, their friends bombarded them.

"What took so long?" The dark haired girl, nicknamed Cupcake, questioned.

A blonde boy wearing green glasses, Monty, spoke quietly, "Yeah?"

"Caleb and Claude were still sleeping."

Everyone gaped. "What?"

Jamie nodded his head. "I know right! And so we'll have to wait a bit."

"Not really!" Out came the two twins, bundled up in a jacket and woolen pants like everyone else.

Caleb elbowed his brother, who gave ten away. "Hey, I thought we were going to sneak up on them!"

"How'd you get here so quickly?!" Jamie asked, stopping the two from arguing like they always do.

"Skipped chores!" The twins responded.

Jack perked a brow. "Let me guess, breakfast too?"

"Yep!" Claude beamed. "Don't worry tho, we always do that."

"Well then..." Jack hurled a snowball at the twins. "Hope you two have enough energy to get me!" He bounded off into the trees, the others trying to strike him. It was a game of cat, well cats, and mouse till Pippa stopped.

"No fair!" Pippa whined, "You shouldn't use your powers."

Jack swooped down from the latest plant he landed in. They had reached an area near the forest boundaries, the fence blocking them. "Why not, milady?"

"Be-because-" Pippa stammered, embarrassed by the title Jack gave her, "We're outnumbered!"

"Me against seven of you."

"What she means I-I think," Monty spoke, "Is that we don't have any way to get at you."

Jack grinned, happy for the preteen to go against his self-consciousness. "Hmm, I see your point. I'll stop."

After finally landing, Jack dashed off, the rest trailing behind.

They all reached a random street, when Jack stopped, getting cornered since the wind wasn't helping him escape.

"We win!" Jamie declared as soon as he reached the area, pouncing on top of the teen.

All the other kids followed suit, Monty slightly hesitant. It ended up becoming a massive tickle war, Jack at the bottom.

"Hahahaha!" Jack giggled, squirming in their touch.

Jamie felt the immortal's feet, earning a hoot of laughter. "Guys! It's his feet!"

Pippa, Claude, and Caleb lunged at his tootsies, freeing up most of the upper part of Jack's body. The immortal bent over, teasing Jamie's open armpits.

"Jaaaaahahahack!" Jamie laughed.

Pippa, noticing an available spot under his arms, took it and tickled along the fabric.

The North wind, Jack's wind, noticed her spiritual brother chuckling and decided to join in the fun with her invisible hands.

"HAHAHAHA! Wi-hahaha-nd! Bet… hahahahaHAHAHA… ray… hahahaHAHAHAHAha… er!"

"Wind!" Sophie bounced on Jack's stomach, gaining more laughs.

"Guys… hahaha haha hahaha…stoooop!" Jack spat out, not sure whether to be annoyed or happy at their tickling.

Pippa triumphed over. "Admit that we are the lordlings of snowball fights!"

Jack grinned. "You are!"

The group halted, finally tired out as they all laid on top of a gasping Jack.

"Not that it wasn't fun…" Jack trailed off, sitting up. "...but this calls for revenge!

With that, he dumped a gallon of snow over the individuals, getting yelps from them all as they leaped off him.

Jack backflipped into the air, flying past them after striking each one with a cold snowball.

Cupcake shrieked, which she normally didn't do, "Get him!"

They all chased the immortal, failing to get a single blow on him. However, Jack managed to land enough projectiles for their clothes to be covered in a thin dusting of ice particles.

"Jack! Slow down!" Cupcake shouted.

Jack chuckled as he jumped onto a branch. "No can do Cupcake. All's fair in a snowball fight!"

"Jack, it's supposed to be all's fair in love and war," Monty corrected.

"Neh, I like my phrase better." Jack threw more snow at them, earning an extra loud squeal from the Cupcake.

The teen backflipped from the branch, landing on the ground. Before he could sprint away, the Burgess gang launched so many snowballs at him, there was a mini cloud of snow blinding them all.

It soon cleared, revealing everyone lying down on the white powdered ground, covered in snowflakes.

"Tired," Sophie panted.

Jamie stood up, helping his younger sibling. "Monty, Pippa, what time is it?"

Monty checked his watch. "WHAT?!"

"Woah, what's wrong Monty?" Caleb asked.

"It's already 5!"

"WHAAAAT?!" The seventh graders all squeaked.

Claude cringed, remembering something. "Caleb, mom told us to return by 5:05 or we'll get double chores."

"Seriously, you just thought of telling me that?" Caleb nearly slapped his brother.

Jack shrugged, not really understanding the issue. "Well, there's still time."

"We don't even know where we are!" Caleb proclaimed. It was true, for the group managed to wander off somewhere close to the park.

Jack said, "Well, prepare for a lovely flight!"

"Wha—aahhhh!" Claude, as well as Caleb, were suddenly snatched up by Jack, soaring through the sky. They arrived at their home in a heartbeat.

"Woah thanks, Jack." Caleb brushed off the snow on his jacket.

"Yeah!" Claude added.

Jack responded, "No prob! Just don't freak out after having a dose of fun like adults do, alright?"

"Okay! See ya later!"

Jack then flew back to the rest, not realizing the situation he got tangled up in. Apparently, the others also had to get home soon, which explained why Pippa, as well as Jamie, clung on Jack's back, Sophie nestled in his arms and Cupcake clutched his staff free hand as they all were in the clouds.

Finally getting to the last stop, the Bennett household, Jack dropped down near the area, Jamie immediately leaping off.

Sophie yawned. "Sleepy…"

"I know Soph, you're back home now," Jack gently placed the toddler in Jamie"s outstretched arms.

"Thanks for the snow day Jack!"

Jack held his staff in a surrender position. "Eh, for fun!" He later gestured to the brunette mother waiting for her offsprings. "Now, your mom is probably waiting to see you."

"Snow day?" Sophie randomly piped up, shifting her head so she saw Jack.

Jack genuinely beamed. "Sure thing Soph, check this Friday."

"Yay!" With that, Jamie sprinted back to his guardian, Jack playfully shouting out that he should go slower so the kid doesn't drop Sophie.

Before leaving, Jack noticed Jamie telling the lady about the upcoming snow day. She merely shook her head fondly; however, her brown eyes met Jack's blue ones and lingered. She gave him a grateful smile, Jack only able to blink in shock. When he glanced back, it was as if nothing occurred.

 _'Probably imagined it.'_ Jack thought as he shot off to his home, the pond where he rose from over three centuries ago.

* * *

Once Jack reached his destination, the boy swooped down on the frozen surface of his "home".

Jack sighed as he spun in lazy circles. "Ahhhh, nothing better than here. No work, just fun!"

The teen twirled an impressive skating move that even the best figure skater in the world couldn't do, landing gracefully as if he'd practiced for hours.

He continued his dance on the ice until he felt another immortal being settling down on his territory.

Jack skidded to a stop once he noticed the Japanese woman waiting for him on the pond's bank. "Yuki Onna! How's everything been?"

Yuki flicked away a strand of her thigh long, silken, straight hair and did a short curtsy, her white kimono bobbing slightly. "The court has been alright Ou-sama. However, I am here to deliver a message from Lady Nature."

"Oh, Yuki." Jack sighed. "I've told you so many times, please no formalities. We're friends outside of the court, not whatever that's called."

Yuki smiled. "I know ou—Jack. Although, I believe this would indeed count as a formal greeting for I still have that message."

"Okay, okay! So, what'd Mother want this time?" Jack questioned.

"I am here to inform you that Lady Nature will be rescheduling the Seasonal Meeting later this month to Friday in this time zone."

"What?" Jack whined, "I have a Guardian Meeting on Friday!"

"Just tell them you must attend Lady Nature's meeting." One look at Jack's nervous face made her continue, "You never told them, have you?"

Jack gulped. "Ummm, maybe?"

"Ou-sama." Yuki rubbed the area between her sculpted eyebrows. "I told you both your jobs will clash eventually. You have to skip that meeting. Lady Nature ordered us to attend; you cannot miss it."

Jack curled his toes, eyes shifting down to the ice. "I know, I know. But, the Guardians'll kill me if I don't go. I missed 5 already in 3 months."

Yuki crossed her arms. "If you tell them now, they may excuse you."

"Just one thing, I can't!" Jack replied, "Yuki, I can't just strut in there and tell them their newest member is an 180 of what they thought!"

As if in response to his emotions, the light flurry around them grew denser, shaping into a small snow squall.

"Jack-sama, calm down."

Jack noticed the forming storm, quickly trying to reign it in. However, his magic was only making it worse. He then realized. "Yuki, I'm not making this…"

Yuki blinked in surprise. "Then who is?"

A trail of ice began crystallizing from where Jack was standing, going off into the dense forest. Jack, struck by curiosity, dashed along the path, Yuki hot on his tail.

"Get back! It may be a possible threat!" Yuki called as she slipped on the ice again, not having Jack's stability. What she said just caused Jack to speed up.

The ice stopped at a clearing, at the center a broken, wooden bed frame.

Jack skidded off cautiously, Yuki colliding with him from behind. Jack toppled over as well, making a mini pileup with him at the bottom.

Jack crawled out, helping Yuki get up. Yuki asked, "Where are we?"

"Pitch's lair," Jack replied, "What I don't get is why. We defeated him two years ago."

Yuki looked around, spotting a patch of blue on the other side of the plain, the forest. "I believe this is why," she whispered, gesturing to the area she saw the unnatural color.

Jack squinted in that direction, holding his staff out defensively. "Who's there?"

A goddess walked into the glade, her robe-like dress swirling around her like her black, curled locks that floated along a breeze.

"Khione," Yuki grounded out, impolite for once.

Khione merely chuckled. "Hello to you as well Yuki Onna."

"What do you want?" Jack stared at Khione, annoyed.

"What do you think, Jackie?"

Jack frowned. "You'll have to fight then and it's obvious you by yourself can't get us."

"Whoever said I was alone?" Khione teased.

On cue, a woman in a familiar blood-red dress materialized from the darkness, skull necklace radiating an aura of death, the only newest accessory being the silk, black cloak with Gods know how many concealed weapons.

Jack's eyes widened. "Death!" He blinked, giving a sarcastic smile. "How lovely to see you."

"You as well, Frost," Death sneered, "My, your fear is exquisite."

"Doesn't Pitch control that?" Jack questioned.

Death, Hel, spat out, "Oh, and how did that failure get his power? No matter, it shall be worth it to see you crumble."

With that, Hel attacked Jack with the shadow underneath him.

"Ah!" Jack froze the tendril, shooting up into the air, only to get pushed down by Khione's wind.

Yuki, with her power, summoned a magnificent ice sword, the blade reaching a fine point.

She began to slash away the fearlings that were forming around Jack as he tried to stand.

"Jack-sama!" Yuki yelled out once Jack got up, "Your weapon!"

Jack, trying to blast away all the shadow creatures, replied, "Yuki, I don't carry that thing around and Jokul only knows how to call it!"

"Then release Jokul!"

Jack thrust his staff into another fearling. "Are you out of your mind?! There are people NEAR here!"

"So?" Yuki exterminated multiple fearlings in rapid succession.

Jack turned to Yuki. "Seriously? Jamie lives close by!"

While Jack was distracted, a fearling grabbed ahold of his arm, pulling him to the ground.

"Ou-sama!" Yuki yelled as she propelled herself to her fallen leader; however, she instantly got hit by a shadow Death shot.

She instantly fell unconscious.

Jack ran to his fallen comrade, to duck from one of Death's incapacitating blows. Khione lashed at his side, knocking Jack into a rock formation on the pond's banks.

Jack groaned as he got back up, noticing the two females circling him as the fearlings were called back.

 _'Guess they think I'm going to lose'_

 ** _'You will if you do not release me this instant!'_** A harsh voice replied in the immortal's head.

Jack rolled his eyes, evading another attack. _'Shut, Jokül. I can handle this.'_

 ** _'Oh, really Ungr Vetr?'_** Jokül mocked, 'Your Head Seasonal is currently unable to battle and you are heavily outnumbered.'

Jack fired two bolts of ice at his enemies, earning two yelps. _'Told you so!'_

 ** _'You should watch out.'_**

Jack dodged a swipe of one of Khione's ice daggers that nearly grazed his forearm.

Hel hollered, "You are not allowed to cut him!"

 _'Huh?'_

Jokül's voice boomed in Jack's mind, **_'Get out as soon as possible!'_**

 _'Naw, I came here for ice cream. Kinda part of the plan already, Jokül.'_

 _ **'I am being serious, Ungr Vetr. Leave!'**_ Jokül hissed.

Jack huffed after he got swatted into a tree, courtesy of Khione's wind, _'I'm trying to but can't. What about Yuki?'_

 ** _'Yuki will stay,'_** Jokül said as Jack rose up again.

 _'What?! No!'_

Jack kicked Khione in the abdomen, sending her whooshing into a tree. He then backflipped from one of Death's shadow balls.

"Bad choice calling back your reinforcements."

Death chuckled. "Then what fun would it be to fight against you when my servants do most of the work."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I see your point."

Unknown to Jack, Khione aimed a dart at him, the tip coated in a substance that makes a target fall asleep, nightmare sand.

Nevertheless, Jökul noticed it. _**'Watch out!'**_

Jack catapulted into the air, the dart lodging itself into a tree. The plant immediately turned black, crumbling away. _'That's close!'_

 _ **'Release me Ungr Vetr!'**_ Jokül suddenly pleaded, ** _'I can turn the tide around.'_**

 _'I—I can't! Jamie and the others in Burgess will get hurt!'_

 _ **'The whole universe may get hurt if you are captured!'**_

Jack tried leaping into the arms of his wind, but Khione cut him off with hers. Jack fell down. _'How?'_

If Jokül was in a physical form, he would've closed his eyes. ** _'That, Ungr Vetr, you may not understand yet.'_**

 _'Why not?'_ Jack whined, _'I need to know!'_

 _ **'What you need to do is summon your sword!'**_

 _'I can't!'_ Jack landed on the side of a tree with a rattling thump.

Death, in an instant, held a Stygian Iron dagger at Jack's throat. The agonizing burn from the substance caused Jack to freeze in place.

"Like it? I use this for pesky light spirits like you."

Jack glared into the menace's red eyes as she slowly pulled out a small glass bottle of nightmare sand from the shadows of her cloak.

"Unfortunately, Pitch is the only one able to bend this creation on his own will. Most of the time that is." Hel spat out the last sentence as she painstakingly uncorked the bottle with her mouth, the soft pop echoing in Jack's ears.

Jack gulped. _'What was it you were talking about Jokül?'_

 _ **'Let me summon the sword for you. Just unleash me long enough to do so.'**_

Jack stared, wide eyed, at the obsidian dagger placed on his neck as the bottle was nearly in his face. _'O-okay, I release you Jokül.'_

A sudden sky blue light seared through the area, emitted by Jack. Hel stepped back from the blinding flash, Khione grinning slightly while she stood beside Hel. The snow goddess's arms were crossed over her black waistband.

As soon as the light appeared, it dissipated, revealing a slightly smirking Jack holding onto an ice blade katana, the golden pommel dressed in light, swirling, white designs. The tips of his white hair were dusted in hoar frost, winter blue irises glowing a hypnotic cyan.

Jack rushed at the duo, nicking Death's arm in the process. Deep red, nearly black, blood dripped out, infuriating the goddess.

Khione, on the other hand, was smiling as if she won the lottery. "Hello, Jokül Frösti."

"Khione," Jack—no, Jökul—grounded out. Jokül lashed at the goddess; nevertheless, Khione was ready and dodged.

Hel sent out a wave of fearlings that soon dematerialized once coming in contact with Jokül's aura.

 _'Jokül, you promised to come back once you got my katana!'_ Jack whispered inside Jokül's mind.

Jokül swung at Khione. _**'Let me handle this Ungr Vetr.'**_

 _'No!'_

 ** _'Why not?!'_ ** Jokül got sent back by a wave of Khione's ice.

Jack whined, _'You'll hurt the people of Burgess. Get back!'_

 _ **'They will get hurt more if you are in control.'**_ Jokül reasoned, crashing into a tree.

 _'Please! And you're getting distracted. I'll handle this! I know I can.'_

 ** _'You were not able to at the beginning! Also, you are the one distracting me, stay silent!'_**

Jack whimpered but listened.

Khione, noticing how Jokül wasn't responding, taunted, "Having issues Jokül?"

"Shut up Snær Bikkja," Jokül snapped.

"From your lover to a snow bitch." Khione laughed amusedly. "What happened to the Jokül that loved me?"

Jokül met Khione's near black orbs as he went up to her. "That spirit hadn't existed for centuries."

"Is it because of what I have done to your precious Ungr Vetr?" Khione smirked when Jokül faltered in his approach.

Jokül was so sucked into the conversation that he wasn't able to sense Hel advancing from behind him.

Jack, however, had. 'Jokül!'

 _ **'What is it this time Ungr Vetur?'**_ Jokül shouted mentally.

 _'Behind you!'_

Jokül turned around, only to get struck in the face with a handful of nightmare sand.

"Sweet nightmares, Frost." were Hel's last words before Jokül's, and Jack's, world fell into darkness.

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Yes, I know it's a bit long. I can't believe the word count is actually past 4000 words! I hope you all liked this! Oh before I go, some of you are probably wondering what the heck Jokül was naming other people. It's Old Norse. From now on, I'll be having a Norse dictionary for everything he says at the last AN, like now. However, I can't say what ouji-sama means without spoiling but all you need to know is that the title fits a king. Okay, the Norse Dictionary, right.**

 **Jokül's Names for Characters:**

 **Jack— Ungr Vetr (Young Winter)**

 **Khione— Snær Bikkja (Snow Bitch)**


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm back from the dead! It's been hmmm 2 MONTHS OoO. I'm so sorry! And oooooh, I have a Guest Review! Never expected to do this but...**

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **Person: Thanks so much and ofc I'm continuing this till the very end! These OCs are my babies!**

 **Okay, I'm officially siked I got a guest review! Keep em coming and it might inspire me to update even more. Funny how I have 100 views on this thing and I update. It's my Milestone, sad but it is. Now,** **my ramblings have stopped and here's Chapter 2!**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Mother Nature Palace)

For the umpteenth time, Emily Jane, or known as Mother Nature, strolled through the halls of her extravagant palace. She occasionally passed by small, square, decorative tables, each set up with a bouquet of flowers in a delicately patterned vase. The golden walls glowed against the white tiled floors, contrasting yet blending together in a unique way. Mother Nature was immune to this beauty, focusing more on trying to find the person she sensed inside.

Most of the servants roaming around hadn't tried to stop her. That is until a cinnamon haired boy holding a tray of tea decided it was high time somebody did something.

When Mother Nature rushed past him, he politely intercepted her. "Are you alright, Lady Nature?"

Mother Nature paused and turned her attention to the boy who bowed quickly. "I am fine, Peter. By any chance, are there any guests?"

"Yeah, Yuki-Onna just came in a while ago." Peter's sea blue eyes glanced at the tray in his hands. "Actually Lady Nature, I was going to deliver this to Yuki-Onna right now."

"Hmm, where is Yuki-Onna at the moment?" Mother Nature asked.

"Oh, right! Yuki-Onna's currently at the private gardens. Would you like for me to escort you there, Lady Nature?"

Mother Nature replied, "Yes, that would be highly appreciated."

Peter stepped out of the way. "Right, this way my lady."

They both walked briskly through the halls until reaching two intricately designed, stained glass doors. Peter opened them both and revealed the most elegant garden in the lands.

Hedges, trimmed to perfection, guarded the area against intruders. Trees were scattered orderly around the area, some blooming flowers that were not in season yet. Waves of thousands of different rippled from each tree, blending together in perfect harmony. A few servants meandered over the area, tending the vegetation. A whitewashed trail led from the house to a sparkling patio at the center of the garden. Two cherry trees were set to each side of the patio, a large tea table in between. In a pink, cushioned seat was none other than Yuki. Once noticing the arrival of her queen, Yuki stood and swiftly, but gracefully, curtsied.

Mother Nature walked towards Yuki, green dress dragging behind her. "You may rise, Yuki-Onna."

Yuki obeyed, sitting down once Mother Nature had. Peter brought over the tray of tea and was about to leave when Mother Nature raised a baggy sleeved arm to stop him.

"Before you leave, I would love to thank you for helping me."

Peter bowed. "You're welcome, Lady Nature. Is there anything else you would like?"

Mother Nature dropped her hand. "No, that is all. Although, I would appreciate it if you escort any other guests here."

Peter nodded and left the area.

"So," Mother Nature drawled, facing Yuki, "Why have you come, Yuki-Onna?"

"This is about Jack-sama," Yuki replied.

Mother Nature poured out two cups of tea as she said, "Did he react poorly to my rescheduling?"

"Um yes, but that was not why I came," Yuki answered.

"Sugar?" Mother Nature held out the small sugar bowl.

Yuki blinked, surprised at the abrupt interruption. "I suppose so. Three cubes please."

Mother Nature dropped the sugar cubes into each teacup, mixing creamer in as well. She handed Yuki a flowered cup and sipped from her own.

"Why did you come?" Mother Nature began.

Yuki sucked lightly on her lip. "Jack-sama has been…kidnapped by Khione and Hel."

"What?!" Mother Nature dropped her cup, shattering it on the table. Fortunately, the spill hadn't hadn't stained Mother Nature's green dress before she evaporated the drink away. "Where were you at this time?"

"I had gotten knocked unconscious while trying to defend him," Yuki responded.

"No," Mother Nature whispered, resolve slightly falling. Thus, Mother Nature started picking up the broken pieces, so it looked as if she hadn't said anything. "Are you absolutely positive it was them?"

"Yes, Lady Nature." Yuki looked at her hands that were placed in her lap. "When I woke up, there was nightmare sand."

Mother Nature's face lit up with hope. "That could mean that it was my father! It must be Pitch Black."

"One situation," Yuki paused, "I fought against Khione."

"Khione could have teamed up with Pitch."

Yuki continued, "Hel knocked me out with a shadow. Pitch cannot manipulate shadows."

Yuki took a bundle of cloth from the empty chair beside her and unwrapped it in her lap. Inside, there was an uncorked, small, cracked, glass bottle. The worst part was that the bottle was halfway full of black sand.

"Also, this." Yuki handed the cloth to Mother Nature. "Pitch would never store his sand in a container if he could make it easily, like what Heikka has told me."

Mother Nature stared at the glass in unconcealed horror. "Oh no, what will Hel do once she knows?"

Yuki took the parcel back. "Lady Nature, Hel does not have the tomb. It will be like last time."

"I wished this was the case. However, Themis reported the tomb has been taken. Hel has finally found him." Mother Nature shook her head.

Yuki glanced at the door, noticing Peter's arrival. "Lady Nature, you servant has arrived."

"Hmmm, what is it, Peter?" Mother Nature faced the teen.

Peter bowed respectfully. "You have more guests, Lady Nature. It is Lady Themis and Lady Anemone."

Peter opened the door, but his grip slipped and it slammed into Anemone's face.

"Ow!" Anemone groaned, holding her bruised nose.

Peter's eyes widened. "Lady Anemone! I'm terribly sorry! Here, I'll bring some ice."

"Neh, it is…" Anemone trailed off when she realized Peter ran off, "Okay."

Themis walked up to the patio and sat down next to Mother Nature. Anemone placed herself with Yuki, adjusting her yellow, ankle low dress and flicking a long strand of white hair out of her face.

"I presume this is also terrible news?" Mother Nature pursed her lips.

"Yes," Themis said gravely, "There is an even larger epidemic spreading now ever since both Maat and Adrestia turned out missing."

"Also, the North Wind lost her connection with Jack Frost," Anemone added, "Where is he?"

Mother Nature sighed. "From what Yuki-Onna has told me, Jack is currently Hel's captive."

"Have you called the other Seasonals?" Themis questioned.

Mother Nature grimaced. "No, I actually have not thought about that."

That was when Peter came back, ice pack in hand. He rushed over and handed it to Anemone.

"Again Lady Anemone, I apologize for accidentally hitting you."

Anemone accepted the ice. "No, it's alright, Peter. No need to say sorry."

"Yes, now be gone." Themis glared at Peter, who interrupted their conversation.

Peter softly whimpered under the stare. Before he could leave, Mother Nature called him, "Peter, may you please do me a favor?"

"Anything, Lady Nature!" Peter nodded his head.

Mother Nature smiled. "Send a message to the Seasonal Sovereigns. They must report at once to the throne room for an impromptu meeting. Only deliver this to the Sovereigns, the Head Seasonals and balance leaders will be called upon later. Understand?"

"Yes, Lady Nature!" Peter dashed off as soon as Mother Nature dismissed him.

"Care for some tea?" Mother Nature inquired once Peter left, pouring three cups. "Unfortunately, it may be a tad cold."

"You should have told your servant to retrieve more," Themis side commented.

Anemone rolled her eyes. "What's gotten you in such a funk?"

"I thought we agreed that you would stop with your informal language after becoming a deity." Themis peered at Anemone.

"Well, that was in the Dark Ages. I'm a grown woman now." It was true, for Anemone was now in her early twenties.

"You still act like a child, at least with your authority," Themis replied, "You cannot continue letting your spirits roam unrestricted."

Anemone stared at Themis, leaning in closer. "At least my people aren't afraid of me."

"So? That shall leave you with no one if there is not a drop of fear in your system." Themis locked eyes with Anemone.

Anemone glared back. "Since when were you, my boss?"

"I am merely an elder advising a childish ruler on how to guide her citizens," Themis smugly replied.

"CHILDISH?!" Anemone's nostrils flared. "When in the name of Zeus am I childish? I'm only giving my people happiness which is never given to yours."

"You have no idea—!"

Mother Nature interjected, "This is unlike both of you to argue over valueless ideas."

Anemone rose an eyebrow. "Isn't that what we typically do?"

Mother Nature persisted, ignoring Anemone, "Why have you brought this up now when we were talking about how to liberate my Winter Sovereign?" Her voice held a sharp, protective edge like a mother's.

Anemone winced. "Before arriving, we were debating on whether or not I should strengthen my power over the wind spirits."

Mother Nature sighed. "Themis, I have already told you multiple times that you have no jurisdiction over whatever Anemone does."

"I do when I am involved." Themis crossed her arms.

"How are you even involved?!" Anemone shouted, "It's my duty, my land, and my kingdom!"

"Well, it is not my fault for your failure to uphold justice and law in your land," Themis snarled.

"Would you two quit it!" Mother Nature hollered, finally cracking.

"Lady Nature!"

"What?!" Mother Nature responded, tone icy.

She turned around and faced a frightened Peter with Yuki by his side.

"How did you…" Mother Nature looked over to Yuki's seat and back. "...get there so quickly?"

"That is beside the point," Yuki stated.

Peter added, "Lady Nature, the other sovereigns have arrived and are waiting in the throne room as you wished."

Mother Nature rose from her chair. "Thank you, Peter. Do you wish to attend as well Anemone and Themis?"

Both women nodded, standing up.

"Alright then, Peter and Yuki-Onna, please guide us to the meeting room."

* * *

After going through countless corridors, the five of them finally reached a set of large, oaken doors that led to the Throne Room. Peter, with help from Yuki, opened the doors, revealing a stunning view.

The hexagonal room, including the doors as one wall, was divided into five sectors.

One section was a complete winter wonderland, snowdrifts used as foot rests at the ends of two differently sized ice thrones. The other section on the left side of the doors, was a spring utopia, flowering vines adorning another pair of thrones, these ones made of stone.

To the right of the doors was a summer oasis, the sparkling lake sitting in front of marble thrones reflecting the two trees behind the seats. The final sector on the right side was an autumn day, two pumpkins rested underneath towering, multicolored trees, granite thrones in between.

The final area, parallel to the entrance, had a large throne and harmonized all the four seasons together. The selenite chair's armrests swirled with vines, the left producing a rainbow of colored flowers, the right blossoming with grapes. A bright summer's sun shone through a frost veiled window, illuminating a sense of mysticism.

Only three people occupied the room, each on the taller divans of spring, summer and autumn, the place where the Sovereigns sat.

The Spring Sovereign wore a silk, pink gown designed with a pattern of vines across her chest, earthen brown hair in a braid weaved with matching flowers.

Unlike Spring, the Summer Sovereign was clad in a full sleeved, black blouse with trails of red, orange and yellow that resembled fire at the collar line and ends, adding an effect to her solid black pants. She kept her curled, tangy red locks loose.

The male Autumn Sovereign wore a crisp, red collar shirt and brown khakis, mixing with his dark brown hair.

Yuki swiftly went to the smaller throne for winter, Mother Nature placing herself on the largest throne. Two golden seats sprouted from the ground beside Mother Nature, Anemone going to the left, leaving Themis with the right.

"Now," Mother Nature proclaimed, "May this meeting begin!"

"Wait," the Summer Sovereign interrupted, "Where in the world is Jack Frost?" Her golden brown eyes flickered with slight annoyance. "Is he coming late again?"

"That was uncalled for, Bedelia Doiteain!" the Spring Monarch, Erantha, scolded, "You know that he is pressured with both of his duties."

"So?" Bedelia shrugged. "He could always quit being a Guardian. The title really isn't anything valuable."

The Autumn Sovereign noticed Mother Nature's twitch, so he ended the argument's spark by saying, "Why have you called us Mother Nature?"

"Thank you Ashun," Mother Nature began after Bedelia and Erantha turned around to face her, "I have called you all here to decide on a grave issue involving the Winter Sovereign."

"Please do not tell us that he will be replaced!" Erantha's eyes grew with terror.

Bedelia also joined, "Yeah, he's the only nondestructive Sovereign in over a millennium." Ashun nodded his head in agreement.

"Oh heaven's no, I have no interest in another seasonal leader." Mother Nature chuckled softly.

"Then, what trouble did he land in again?" Ashun asked.

The small grin on Mother Nature's face fell. "Jack Frost has been kidnapped."

"Hold on," Bedelia rebutted, "Who and how did they kidnap Frost?"

Yuki politely responded, "Summer Sovereign, Jack and I were at his pond when Khione ambushed us. With her was also Hel."

"You let Jack get kidnapped?"

Yuki blinked at Bedelia's harsh tone. "Of course not, I was knocked unconscious for defending my Heika. I suspect that nightmare sand was in use for the glass bottle full of it that I recovered from the scene." She then unwrapped the evidence and held it up.

Ashun broke the pregnant period of silence. "I know this is very important; however, the last time Jack was kidnapped by Hel, Lady Themis and Lady Anemone had not come to help us find him. Why are they here now?"

"Good observation!" Anemone praised, "We came because the fate of the universe is possibly at stake. We cannot tell you all why right now because it's a long story, and we need a plan."

"We truly do," Erantha spoke, "However, I believe we should not tell our Head Seasonals about this affair. Gods know they do not care for Jack Frost as we do."

Mother Nature crossed her long, thin fingers in her lap. "That is why I sent only you three the message. Any suggestions for how to start?"

"I have one," Bedelia announced, "Tell the other guardians about this situation!"

"But, we are the only ones able to do anything about this," Erantha disagreed.

Bedelia merely waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "They can still help us. Also, they are entitled to know what happened to their Guardian of Fun. I mean, wouldn't they notice sooner or later?"

"I agree that is what we should do," Ashun said, "However, we need to create a plan before going."

"Nope." Bedelia winked. "We could just plan with them."

Mother Nature placed her arm on the handrest. "Since there are no further ideas, I will follow what Bedelia has told. Agreed?"

The others gave a dignified nod.

"It is settled." Mother Nature rose from her chair. "We shall leave immediately."

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Yes, it's short xD I'm sorry for the long wait for something only 2,528 words (Not including AN). Please forgive me. I don't want to make excuses sooooo a gift for all those who continue reading: I will explain any questions (PM or next chapter your choice) to the best of my ability with minimal spoilers. And, I've been wondering if I should also include a list of OCs with my Norse (and soon more) dictionary. What do you think? Leave it in the reviews!**


	4. AN 1

**PLZ IGNORE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BEFORE 4/14/17 but still allowed to read.**

 **Yeah, this is no update. And I'm not unpublishing this story! I just wanted to say that I realized that I accidentally used the wrong Japanese honorific for Yuki-Onna to use when addressing Jack. As of 4/14/17, I have changed it to where Yuki uses the proper honorific and etc.**

 **I'm sorry for the inconvenience of both people on wattpad and fanfiction . net. Just for the record, I'm actually a fourth way through with Chapter 3 and from the gasps of my friends at school after reading the part I have, I think it's going to be quite the shocker. I hope that you** **all tell me (PLZ TELL ME) if I use something wrong cuz I am not native to ANY of these languages I use xD.**

 **I only know English and Bangla soooooo, no way near Norse, Japanese and so forth that will come. And I don't really like Google Translate, so I'm not using that as much. Especially with the Norse dictionary since it's a lost language. Yes, Jökul speaks a LOST LANGUAGE. The closest thing to it is Icelandic! I'm not trying to beg or anything, but I put a lot effort in these delayed updates. I literally have: 10 saved websites docked with info (one is a record of diseases in the last 100 years), 4 pages of ideas and background research, a full plot for Restoring Balance Book 1, and 8 pages worth of OC profiles for the characters that I have listed SO FAR. Btw, those are:**

 **1) Mother Nature (based on GoC character with OC adjustments)**

 **2) Tsar Lunar (based on GoC character with OC adjustments)**

 **3) Anemone**

 **4) Themis**

 **5) Hel**

 **6) Holler**

 **7) Yuki-Onna**

 **8) Khione**

 **9) Bedelia**

 **10) Erantha**

 **11) Ashun**

 **And two from Chapter 3.**

 **Btw, I do have a reason for my madness of OCs! It's cuz most just fade in and out (#3 &4, #6 is in flesh at the last book xD, #9-11) but have some involvement with this whole plot somehow. I know I've babbled more than I should have but I'm grateful that I have over 100 views and 20is followers (wattpad, fanfiction and hooked school friends xD)** **. Still, most is common knowledge (except for my research paper stuff) so I haven't spoiled much.**

 **Happy readings~WinterCrystal**


	5. Chapter 3

**Wow, an update within two weeks! That's my all time best xD Exect more soon cuz fillers are over! Now, here is CHAPTER 3! (Sorry for the short 2,400 word update)**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Nightmare)

 _Darkness overwhelmed all my senses. I couldn't tell how long I've been in here: hours, weeks, years. I had no clue. However, when I regained control, I wish I hadn't._

 _It wasn't because I was in the midst of a battle. It wasn't because of the fields covered by countless corpses, burns and frostbite decorating each dead body. It wasn't because of the trails of otherworldly fluids flowing through the land's gorges. Oh no, not at all. It was because of the decapitated body right in front of my eyes; the being's blood glistened on my katana._

 _I clutched my shepherd's staff as I surveyed the damage I, no Jokül, inflicted upon the victim. It was nearly impossible to tell who it was with how much blood and other gorish detail clouding him, its yellow cloak only revealing that it was an important Summer Court official._

 _That was when the head rolled to my feet. I knelt to take a closer look. Blonde hair peeked out from the tears of the shredded hood. I slowly took off a golden mask adorning its face, already drawing suspicions on who it was. My guess was correct when I stared into a pair of lifeless, golden brown eyes that held an arrogant spark in them._

 _I had assassinated Blaze, the Summer Sovereign._

 _Hell bent on running away, I careened backward, nearly tripping over my stupid, navy blue war cloak. The swooshing sound from steadying myself into the North Wind's grasp got the attention of another Summer Court member across from me. Her cloak hood fell, showing vivid locks of viscous red._

 _Magma red locked with ice blue. Rage vs depression. Her eyes flared once she realized who I was. "Attack the Winter Sovereign! He has killed our king and shall pay for his murder!"_

 _I stood there, frozen, not able to move a muscle. Suddenly, the background blurred, contrasting with the sharp images of the mob of pursuers. Everything started spinning until Yuki Onna landed right in between and summoned an ice dome to protect us._

 _"It will not last long without your permafrost abilities," Yuki stated, shaking her head._

 _I was still petrified. The booming crack of ice woke me from my trance. I shot a bolt of frost at the hole in our dome. It was futile, for more cracks appeared as the attacks progressed. I tried to repair our only defense with the best of my ability, but it wasn't enough._

 _"Yu-Yuki, I-I can't hold it much longer." My voice trembled with fear._

 _Yuki comforted me, "It is alright, Jack-sama. Just know that if you are to be in danger, I will shield you."_

 _I gulped. "No Yuki, it's my fault we got into this mess."_

 _"Ja—"_

 _"I was the one who completely released Jokül. I deserve the blame." I sighed, trying to think about what to do next._

 _More summer spirits rammed into the dome, shouting incoherent threats against me and those who defended me. That's it; they only want me! So, I opened the dome and stepped out. Immediately, pure permafrost sealed the ice, preventing Yuki from helping me._

 _I had to do this. Alone._

 _I spread out my arms, managing not to disturb the tightly tied hood shielding my identity. "You want a piece of me?" I strapped my staff to my back and unsheathed my other katana, preparing into a battle stance. "Well, you're going to have to fight for it."_

 _I ran into the crowd, slicing away. All was a blur as tears of sorrow welled in my eyes. That was the only bliss: not looking at the massacre I caused with the powers of winter and swordsmanship. Instinct took a hold of me._

 _I had no idea what went on until I heard a shout. "Ou-sama!" Yuki yelled as she pounded against the permafrost dome._

 _I looked back for a quick second. A second of vulnerability. The woman who first witnessed me, Natalie, or so declared by Summer's army, took the chance and trapped me in a headlock. A dagger was placed along my esophagus._

 _"Hmm, it'd be such a pity to just end you right now and not make you suffer for your crime," the woman drawled as she summoned a flame into her hand. The other hand pulled my hair to tearing point. "Sadly, you cannot pay by blood; alas, I can improvise."_

 _She shoved her fiery hand under my heavy cloak, onto my bare stomach. A barrel of pain traveled from the area as if the hand was a branding iron. The agony increased when the sadist sent more flames to engulf me. Soon, others joined in._

 _I couldn't take it anymore._

 _I screamed; I thrashed as more hot hands from the crowd groped at me, tried to burn me to death. I veiled myself in a thick layer of frost that hadn't lasted long. I didn't have enough concentration nor strength to form any permafrost, which would surely come in handy._

 _When they got tired of their twisted fun, somebody hurled me forward, skidding me towards Yuki's ice dome. Summer elementals fired more heat at the dome, enough for the ice to crumble. I screeched as others held a lax Yuki-Onna up and pulled off her hood. Once again, I was held up by a powerful immortal._

 _"Ah, so you are Winter's Head Seasonal?" Natalie strutted to the front. She glanced back at me mockingly, knowing fully well that I couldn't do anything. The Summer spirits had officially imprisoned me. "I wonder, how much terror will our murderer feel if I did this."_

 _In a flash of silver, Natalie drove her dagger right into Yuki's abdomen. Yuki kept a neutral face. The torturer, furious, drew out the dagger. It plunged into Yuki's waist, more blood staining her ice blue cloak. The dagger agonizingly swept across her body, Yuki's screams echoing the area. When I heard her first wail, I couldn't stand it any longer._

 _I jabbed my elbow into the male who held me. He instantly dropped me, clutching his bruised stomach. Once again, everything blended together, but I still was able to throw my katana right where I believed that fiend's stomach was. My heart shattered when I realized who I'd actually hit._

 _Yuki blinked sluggishly as she stared at my weapon in her chest. Ruby red blood spilled around her. She promptly fell to her knees._

 _"Ou—Ou-sama, how could you?" Yuki murmured disbelievingly._

 _I sprinted forwards, slashing through everything in my way. I quickly knelt by my fallen general, weeping loudly._

 _"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Yuki-dono!" I hiccuped. Yuki gently placed a hand on my left shoulder._

 _Instead of the dying whisper I expected, what came out was a strong voice shouting:_

 ** _"Jack, wake up!"_**

* * *

(Hel's Catacombs)

The harsh clank of shackles resonated throughout the room as Jack jolted himself awake. His eyes instantly landed on the restraints. Jack summoned his frost to at least freeze the iron but to no prevail. He couldn't even call up a bit of his power as if it was stuck within him. Giving up, Jack looked around the cell, and he hadn't thought about seeing _them_.

Right in Jack's line of vision were two goddesses, bound in the same rusted chains as him. By appearance itself, it was clear that both of them were two sides of the same coin.

The closest deity to Jack studied him with her dark brown eyes. Her tattered, purple dress shone with golden ichor as it tried to veil wilted, bruised skin to the best of its ability. A feather charm was attached the deity's golden necklace, radiating a dubious amount of power. The shocking part was her youthful appearance, not even a day over 15.

The other deity next to her was sound asleep, as so proven by her bowed head. The female's black hair surrounded her waist in a halo. Unlike her companion, the deity's white lace blouse and black tights showed off most of her curves and were far less tattered. In fact, she didn't even look half as nearly beaten up, even though she was far older.

"Nefra? Ciara?" Jack questioned after finally finding his tongue.

The only awake goddess, Nefra, cheered, "Thank goodness you didn't call us Ma'at and Adrestia! I swear, it infuriates me so much when people do that!"

"I know." Jack snorted. "You told me that so many times."

"Hey, what can I say? You hate your position too so," Nefra countered, jerking her unbound head to Jack's chest. This bit of movement caused the girl's hair to ruffle. Nefra groaned as she tried to tame it, inevitably creating a worse mess. After all, with her hands bound, Nefra couldn't really do much.

Jack smiled when Nefra rubbed her head against the wall, making her hair even more tangled. "Alright, I can see that."

"Finally!" Nefra grinned as her locks, at last, calmed down. Jack shook his head in amusement.

Jack glanced around once more, noticing something rustling in the shadows. "Hey, who's over there?"

"Him?" Nefra gestured her head to the male immortal curled up at the shadiest corner of the dimly lit cell. His black robe concealed most of his pale skin. What wasn't clothed was covered by chains made of some sort of black, or blackened, material. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, not really," Jack replied as he tried to identify the man.

Nefra laughed, surprising the hell out of Jack. "You really don't know?"

Jack shook his head.

"It's Pitch; the guy you defeated two years ago?" Nefra stated.

"WHAT?!" Jack's voice echoed, waking up Ciara from her slumbering.

"Ugh, can't you keep it down, Nefra?" Ciara, aka Adrestia, glared at Nefra.

Nefra blinked, staring into Ciara's blue orbs. "Woah, what? It wasn't me who yelled! It was Jack!"

"I was awake ever since you woke up Jack." Ciara yawned. "You two need to tone it down a notch. Seriously, some of us are trying to sleep away our pain."

Nefra quirked an eyebrow, flicking a thread of her golden blood at Ciara. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a way worse scenario than you. If I get any more of those fearlings injected within me, I'll disintegrate."

Ciara rolled her eyes. "That's why I offered you the chance to sleep and regain some lost power. Instead, you handed it to me."

"She would die!" "I would die!" Jack and Nefra exclaimed at the same time.

Nefra added, "Just because darkness doesn't affect you nor Pitch doesn't mean it's neutral for us!"

Once Pitch was mentioned again, Jack glanced at the beaten down figure. "Are you absolutely positive that _is_ Pitch? He looks awful."

"We all look bad," Ciara retorted, "Though I admit, I'm much better off than those two."

The near silent clatter of chains was the only indication that Pitch uncurled himself.

"Only since Ma'at and I are Hel's current targets," Pitch remarked as he unwove the knots that shortened his limits. "Although, I assume Frost will be next."

"What if I'm just here because she's going after me later?" Jack countered, "Like Ciara."

Pitch crossed his arms if it would even be called that. "Oh believe me when I say you will be her top priority."

Jack huffed. "If you know that, can you tell me why I'm here?"

"Hmm." Pitch pursed his thin, black lips. "There is not much I can tell."

Jack glared at Pitch. "Then how can you say that I'm going to be her top priority?"

"I know from the snippets I have heard. So far, it seems as if He'll believes you are a part in some prophecy."

Nefra interrupted, "Wait by any chance, does this prophecy have anything to do with Holler and chosen one's blood?"

"Yes," Pitch answered, "Hel is trying to gain information from me about my daughter's offsprings, which I have no idea of."

"What prophecy?" Jack questioned.

Nefra replied, "When Manny and Mother Nature imprisoned Holler in this tomb to delay the universe's end, it's said that Themis uttered a prophecy about how to release him."

Jack gulped. "Am I actually involved in this like what Hel believes?"

"I dunno." Nefra shrugged her shoulders. "The only facts about the prophecy was that there is a chosen one whose blood is powerful enough to raise Holler from his tomb."

"Why is she going about this now?" Ciara scoffed.

After a few beats, Nefra's eyes were full of terror.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, yeah." What Nefra said didn't reassure Jack the slightest; he looked at Nefra with a disbelieving face.

"Fine." Nefra huffed. "I just realized it's possible that Hel uncovered Holler's tomb."

"How so?" Pitch inquired.

"For starters, Hel is looking for their offspring. Most of the time, the children of whoever evoked the prophecy, in this case, Man in Moon's and Mother Nature's kids, are the ones who are chosen for this kind of thing," Nefra explained, her gaze lingering at Jack when she finished.

Jack stared back. "What?"

Nefra was going to respond when an ear-splitting scream echoed throughout the cell.

"What was that?!" Jack yelled, ears still ringing from the sound.

Nefra winced. "That is the screeching of those who are victims of the Dark Lord's anger."

"Dark Lord?" Jack rose an eyebrow.

Ciara glared at Jack. "Yeah, this god who teamed up with Hel."

"Are you kidding me? First Khione, now this sadistic guy!"

Pitch commented, "By how close that was to here, I'd say that the Dark Lord is coming."

More tortured howls erupted from outside of the trapdoor.

"That doesn't sound so good." Jack peered at the wooden door above them. "Are you actually positive that I'm up next?"

"Pitch is, I'm not," Nefra started off, "There's a chance he's after any of us. The Dark Lord is really unpredictable, and a force not to reckon with."

"And he's angry at the gods. Like, super pissed," Ciara added, "So, he might just pick us again."

Suddenly, their conversation was silenced by the click of a door unlocking.

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **This is my failed attempt at a suspenceful ending! Who's it going to be, hmmm? I don't even know! (Srsly, I don't) Now, I promised a list of OCs at the end of each chapter with my dictionary of words and I will. Although, nobody requested it. Ah well. Here's the list!**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**


	6. Chapter 4

**I believe I owe an apology xD. Sorry for taking so long to update...once again. I was crammed with dumb finals till the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Like, I had them for 2 weeks! Though, thanks for the 280 views people! Anyway, you guys probably don't want to hear my lame excuses or ramblings so here's Chapter 4!**

 **Warning: This is where that "bloodless torture" bit comes it hehehehe.**

o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Hel's Catacombs)

The four were silent as they waited for the Dark Lord's head to pop up. Nothing was detected except for the thump of a door closing and shackles clanking along obsidian. He had targeted the cell next to theirs.

Nefra sighed. "Looks like we're safe."

"For now," Ciara warned, "Anyone can come down here any moment."

As if on cue, the door above them banged open.

"Great going, Ciara," Jack huffed.

Descending down the nearly invisible steps carved within the walls was none other than Hel. Her red dress was still on, darker splotches of blood staining it. The malice filled smile proved that she didn't care at all about the liquid.

"How has your stay been, Frost?" Hel questioned, towering over the winter spirit.

Jack nonchalantly stared into the goddess's red eyes. He kept quiet.

Hel hummed, "Now, what happened to the talkative Jack Frost?"

Instead of verbally answering her, Jack's foot lashed out at Hel's knee, missing by a few millimeters.

The goddess growled, roughly kicking him down. A crack echoed throughout the room as Jack landed on the floor, blue hoodie billowing around his head. Nefra tried to yell a retort; Ciara shushed her.

Jack grimaced, still not replying. In an instant, Hel's black soled foot pressed down on Jack's bare stomach.

The pressure wasn't awful until Hel shifted into a more torturous position. A sudden jolt of pain caused Jack to yelp. Hel grinned as she applied more force.

"I said, how has your stay been, Frost."

Jack glared at the foot planted on his purpling skin. "Just peachy."

"Good." Hel removed her boot from Jack's stomach, leaving a dirty shoe print on the spot. "Lucky for you, our fun is not over yet."

The goddess grabbed a handful of Jack's soot filled hair and hauled him into a standing position. She took out a rusted ring of keys from a hidden pocket in her cape and inserted it into a keyhole within the wall. With a click, the chains holding Jack to the floor fell away. Nevertheless, he still had the ankle restraints, and his hands were still shackled.

Hel roped a shadow strand onto both chains. "I hope you shall enjoy the stay. I have upgraded most of the catacombs after your last…visit."

Jack bit his lip. _'That doesn't sound so good.'_

As Hel dragged the teen away, Jack couldn't help worrying about what the goddess had in store for him.

* * *

All he got was this: it was dark, it was cold and he was scared.

Jack couldn't see anything but darkness as his blindfold blocked nearly all light. Jack couldn't feel anything but the cold radiating from the table he was strapped onto. Thus, Jack couldn't help but let fear gather within him.

He wished so much to escape. However, thanks to the iron infused leather bands binding him to the table, he couldn't summon a single drop of his power. To make it all the more miserable, Jack was stripped of his hoodie, compelling his mind to focus on his sense of touch. It didn't help that the iron's influence also left him as vulnerable as a newborn baby.

Just when the burn of the Stygian Iron head clamp became unbearable, the soft groan of a chair alerted him that Hel arrived with her 'provisions'.

Jack froze when he heard the splash of water inside a bucket.

"I see Pitch was not lying about your new fear," Hel sneered, "the fear of drowning."

"Can it, Death."

A wet hand ran through his hair. "Why should I when it provokes you so entertainingly?"

Jack swore that something, a rag maybe, dropped into the liquid.

"Although, I am quite curious as to how you obtained such an apprehensiveness over something so little," Hel drawled as fat beads of cold water landed on Jack's bare stomach, eliciting a shiver from each drop, "After all, you can simply freeze it."

Hel chuckled breathlessly. "Wait, you can't now."

"Just cut to the chase and tell me what you want," Jack said, voice flat of any emotion.

"Simple. I want to know why you are afraid."

Jack scoffed, "I'm not scared of water, so you're out of luck."

"Are you positive?" A damp, coarse cloth was shoved into Jack's mouth. "I would love to attest that."

Even though Jack was prepared, the spray of water hit him like a ramming bull.

Water instantly seeped into his mouth, forcing him to gag on the rag. Jack tried to shout; however, it was all drowned out by the rushing stream.

A wet sensation crawled down his chest— stomach— legs, slowly submerging him in the fluid. The shadows, woven into the cloth above his eyes, gradually strengthened even more until he could only see pure black.

The sudden crack of ice, Emma's shrill shriek as he plummeted; it all reverted inside his head. Cold, darkness, the feel of water filling deprived lungs, was all that he could decipher.

Soon, all his strength left him. Jack stopped screaming, stopped crying, stopped jerking, stopped breathing.

Still, he was alive.

 _I'm not even breathing, so how am I alive? I should be dead by now!_

A sudden sliver of dread sliced through Jack's resolve when he realized something.

He was stuck in this nightmare for eternity—but there was no moon to save him this time.

As if finally noticing Jack's resilience fading, the stream of water cleared away. The cloth suffocating him was removed.

Oh how luxurious the air felt in his lungs. Jack greedily took in large breaths, only to cough up water. The liquid dribbled down his chin, yet Jack still attempted to reawaken his organs.

Once Hel believed that he was able to speak, she asked, "Mind explaining why you reacted as such when you said yourself that you were not 'scared of water'?"

"Fine, I guess I do have a fear of drowning," Jack replied nonchalantly, nearly concealing his inner emotions, "But what does this have to do with anything?"

"I am just curious."

"What if I said that I have no idea why?" _Shut up Jack, shut up Jack, shut up Jack._

Hel hummed. "Well then, I suppose that I have no choice but to continue."

The saturated cloth was once again stuffed into his mouth.

Jack waited for the onslaught of terror to occur again. When she hadn't begun yet, he was confused.

Hel called, "Acheron, fill up this bucket and another. Make sure to heat one up this time!"

'Heated water? What's she going to do with me?' Jack panicked. 'Why can't Jokül or Nightlight be here right now?'

Jack noticed that the table started tilting to where his feet were more elevated than his head.

Finishing up the adjustment, Hel waited impatiently for the servant to arrive, indicated by the rhythmic tapping of fingernails against metal.

At last, the filled container came, splashing some excess water onto the floor. Hel yelled at the servant, "What took you so long?!"

"I-I-I'm s-sorry, your Majesty. S-Sa-Sabrina asked me to as-s-sist her with a p-p-pa-patient," a young male voice shakily replied.

"Is Sabrina your master now?" Hel continued when the male whimpered, "Give me an answer, servant!"

"N-n-no! Y-y-you are my master!"

"Good," Hel said, "Now scram. As you can see, I have to deal with another pest."

Hurried footsteps were the only response from the poor servant as he complied to his master's orders.

"You have one last chance, Frost," Hel warned as she removed the gag, "Tell me now and you will be spared."

Jack managed to shake his head, albeit a little, yet the fractional movement was enough for Hel. With an annoyed huff, the goddess picked up the bucket.

Jack felt the heat from the steam before the burning water touched his delicate skin.

He couldn't help but scream as the liquid flooded him. That was his mistake as the boiling water attacked his mouth, scorching his insides. Jack squirmed in his restraints to avoid the penetrating heat in vain.

Sizzling skin and tortured yells were the only things that hit Jack's ears.

Hysterical sobs racked through Jack's being, cries he never heard in his tormenting world.

The worst part was when the fire was replaced with ice.

His pain-filled shriek echoed throughout the catacombs as the sudden ambush of cold soaked into every pore of his body.

The cold he was so familiar with, yet wasn't. This was not the soft chill that embraced him whenever there was a light snowfall. Oh no, this was a sharp chill that terrorized people with fear.

The agony finally cracked his resilience.

"YOU WIN!" Jack forced out in between his screeches, "PLEASE JUST STOP!"

The torrent of cold immediately paused. "Are you ready to answer me now?"

Despite the head clamp, Jack vigorously nodded his head. "Yes, yes, yes! Please, no more!"

Hel triumphantly laughed as she set down the container in her hands. "At last. Why is it that you are afraid of drowning?"

 _Don't tell her! Don't tell her!_ Jack remained silent, angering the once amused goddess.

"Talk now or you'll be doused again. This time, even worse."

"No, please!" _Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't do it!_ "I give up!"

Hel fingered his hair. "Well then? My patience is waning."

"I drowned before," Jack whispered, "In my human life, I drowned to…"

The teen wasn't able to finish his sentence as he was harshly thrown into the throes of unconscious.

* * *

Nefra couldn't handle the gurgling, horror-filled wails anymore.

She failed into saving her Jack. The teen merely years older than her, physically at least, who teased her at the Seasonal meetings. The Sovereign that always danced his night away at the Solstice and Equinox balls.

Nefra let herself be swept away by the flood of memories sparking in her head. Anything was better than to hear her friend cry and know that she wasn't able to stop it.

She thought about how Ciara constantly taunting her about the budding friendship between her and Jack Frost.

Nefra remembered the times when she was locked inside the Seasonal Meeting Room with Jack all because Bedelia and Ciara repeatedly betted on what they would do. Ashun or Erantha would always rescue them in the end, screaming their lungs off at the other two immature leaders.

Oh, the thrill she felt when Jack took her to the Oak of Sorrows and introduced her to the Nods. The assurance she felt when Jack came to her, to her, for emotional help after the Winter and Summer Battle of 1934. The joy she felt when Jack chased her around Mother Nature's gardens, the wind whipping her hair.

All that happiness quashed by Hel.

Jack may have survived two decades within these catacombs, but Hel had updated her torture methods since then.

In fact, it was a wonder that Jack was even sane after being tortured for years, the battle between him and Blaze, and the constant stream of hatred that was spewed out at him every day. The Oak of Sorrows can only absorb so much sadness, and he was as grief-filled as they can get.

Nefra hoped that his mental strength could hold just a tad more. However, that bit of optimism was soon vaporized when she heard Jack scream: "You win! Please just stop!".

"Jack," Nefra murmured.

Ciara rustled once again as she tried to sleep. "Can't they be more quiet?" The woman rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Be more quiet?! _BE MORE QUIET_?!" Nefra fumed, "He is damn being _TORTURED_ right now while you're peacefully sitting on you heinie acting like an _ASS_ , and you want Jack to shut up?! He dang can't!"

Ciara blinked in surprise. "Okay, sheesh, I'm sorry. My sleepiness just clouded rational thought, is all."

"Oh." Nefra breathed in a large gulp of air. "Sorry Ciara. Guess hearing Jack really put me in—"

The girl paused when an unconscious, white haired teen was dumped unceremoniously into the cell.

o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Was there anybody who wasn't left traumatized after that? Oh yeah, speaking of which, I would love to thank my new beta, Goddess of Technology, for the incredible work she's done with editing my chapters!**

 **Stay in tune for my next update and don't be afraid of reviewing!**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**


	7. Chapter 5

**Wow, I have 354 views and 16 followers. Idk what to say! Thank you to those who read this fanfic, like thanks SO MUCH. I hope to achieve 1,000 views and 30 followers, but I need readers like you guys to spread this fanfic around! Now, you've all been waiting for in a month, Restoring Balance Chapter 5!**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(North Pole)

North, as usual, was having a very _busy_ day.

Sure, there were still nine more months till Christmas, but it takes time to master perfection. He had to tweak errors in toys, make sure electronics didn't explode, craft new designs and much more that an ordinary person wouldn't realize the importance of: eating cookies, playing with toys, those kind of things.

Thus, it made sense for him to be a tad grumpy when a yeti, out of the blue, rushed into his office like there's no tomorrow.

North raised his hands in the air in frustration, one holding a hammer another an icepick. "What is it this time, Phil!"

"Arg ga brdre moht ntre," the yeti responded.

"What?" North dropped his tools on his work desk. "Mother Nature is at Pole?"

Phil nodded and started walking away.

"Wait, you never say which room she is in!"

Phil paused mid step and turned around, gesturing North to follow him. The burly man brushed ice off the sleeves of his red sweater and ran up to catch up with the yeti.

Once the two reached one of the many sitting rooms at the Pole, North's escort walked away.

Inside, red plush chairs were in an unclosed semicircle, a table set up in the middle. The seats were close enough to the fire to feel a bit of its warmth but not enough to make a winter spirit uncomfortable; North had to rearrange it that way for the special addition to the team.

However, sitting in those chairs currently were not the Guardians. Oh no, North was met with a curt, formal atmosphere instead of the familial one he was used to.

Eh, at least he didn't have to defrost a rabbit like last time.

The members within the room immediately rose, Mother Nature ever being the graceful woman she was.

Curtsying, the goddess tilted her head in greeting. "Nicholas St. North, it is a pleasure to be in your abode."

"Is fine!" North waved his hands. "Sit, sit! I ask elves to bring refreshments, da?"

"Thank you."

With that, North's guests all sat down in a flourish, leaving the burly man a center chair close to the fireplace.

An auburn brown haired male bowed his head respectively. "I believe we haven't met?"

North smiled. "Yes, but is alright."

The male continued, "I understand, but I should at least offer my colleagues and my name. I am Ashun L'automne, the Sovereign of Autumn."

He gestured to the Japanese woman sitting farthest away from the heat, "She is Yuki-Onna, the Head Seasonal of Winter," then to the well dressed lady next to Yuki, "Her name is Erantha Vrochì, the Sovereign of Spring," and to the redhead at the back, "Finally, this is Bedelia Doiteain, the Sovereign for Summer."

"Nice to know who are guests, yes?" North's loud voice boomed, "What brings you to the Pole?"

"Jack's gone missing," Bedelia blurted out nonchalantly, crossing her arms, "Not in a good way either."

"What?!"

Erantha sighed. "What my _friend_ is trying to say is that Jackson Overland Frost has been kidnapped and we wanted to work with the Guardians to bring him back."

North blinked for a full minute, a minute full of awkward silence, before he responded, "I see. I call other Guardians; do you want to wait in Globe Room?"

"Sure." Bedelia shrugged her shoulders.

Mother Nature glanced at her Sovereign, North noticing the spark of withering anger in the look. "We would love to."

* * *

To say the Globe Room is incredible was an understatement.

It was simply stunning: floorboards shined to perfection, massive, ornate pillars holding the balcony aloft, the giant globe full of twinkling lights.

Still, the Seasonal Court didn't even give a passing glance at the beauty.

Even though he shouldn't be offended by something so little, North was deeply hurt. Everyone loved the Globe Room and always cooed when first seeing it, including Bunny!

"Niiiiiice."

Maybe somebody did give a glance.

North turned to a Bedelia Doiteain that was running her hands around a table fixed near the controls of the Pole.

"Somewhere to sit!"

The Sovereign plopped onto the table, leaning back with her hands gripping the edge to keep her upright.

Guess these people were harder to impress than North thought.

Erantha asked, "How do you call the other Guardians?"

"The Northern lights of course!"

Bedelia looked at the Russian. "Wait, you _actually_ manipulate the Aurora Borealis?" With North's joyous nod, she muttered, "That explains why some of my sprites get lost."

North mentally groaned. Do these people just ignore blunt beauty or something?

"How do you do so?" Ashun peered at the control board and was slightly confused by all the buttons.

North grinned as he pushed down the crystal lever, activating the lights. "Simple!"

A wave of multicolored light shot up from the globe and traveled through the skies.

Bedelia stared at the Aurora Borealis in awe. "I admit, that is _COOL!_ No wonder Frosty loves this place."

Ashun hummed in agreement, Erantha rolled her eyes, but Mother Nature stayed silent.

It took only a few minutes for North's friends to see the calling.

Zipping down from the window was none other than Tooth, green, blue and gold feathers gleaming in the sunlight. Soon, an airplane made of shimmering sand flew around the globe, landing down next to them. Immediately after that, Bunny came in with two yetis, the gray furred, humanoid rabbit shivering in the cold.

Bunny glared at the Cossack, furry arms crossed together in frustration. "Why'd ya call us…" He trailed off once he noticed that Mother Nature was in the room, "Emily Jane, a pleasure to see ya again!"

The ever so short Sandy left his airplane and drifted to her, waving his greeting.

Mother Nature smiled sweetly. "Hello old friend, it has been quite a while. Toothiana, nice to meet you again, busy as always I see?"

"It's an honor to see you again," Tooth absently replied in the middle of directing her fairies, "San Diego Sector 12, 2 premolars, 5 canines and 12 incisors. Yeah, there's always night somewhere. Right, Sandy?"

Sandy nodded his head in agreement. He faced his long time companion and rapidly flashed symbols that only she could decipher.

"Yes Sandman, this is my court. Oh Guardians, you never saw the Seasonal Court!"

"It's fine, Emily," Bunny said.

"No, it is not alright Bunnymund. Introductions are in order." Mother Nature waved her hand to her court. "Meet Bedelia Doiteain, the Summer Sovereign, Erantha, the Spring Sovereign, Ashun L'automne, the Autumn Sovereign, and Yuki-Onna, the Head Seasonal of Winter. My Seasonals, these are the Guardians: Nicholas St. North, Toothiana, Sanderson Mansnoozie, and E. Aster Bunnymund respectively."

The five, once again, bowed in greeting.

Bunny groaned softly, still disturbing the polite atmosphere. "North, ya know where Frostbite is?"

"Frostbite, classic." Bedelia snickered at the nickname.

North, on the other hand, looked gravely at his friend. "That is why the Seasonal Court is here."

"Did Jack do somethin'?" Bunny asked Mother Nature.

The woman shook her head. "If only that were to be the case. He has been reported to be kidnapped by Hel and Khione or said so by Yuki-Onna."

The others' reactions were expected: Tooth gasped, Bunny's eyes widened and Sand made images of snowflakes, question marks, etc. above his head.

"Kidnapped?" Bunny's ears flopped down. "Whadda mean?"

Bedelia scoffed. "There's only one definition of kidnapped, Rabbit."

Tooth stared at Mother Nature, amethyst eyes full of worry. "Who are Hel and Khione?"

The woman gulped as she clasped her hands together, locking her gaze with the Tooth Fairy. "Hel is the Norse Goddess of Death, Ruler of Helheim, and she adapted some… violent tactics to achieve whatever she desires. Khione is the Greek Goddess of Snow, one of the members of Jack's court."

If the guardians weren't already anxious enough, Mother Nature's statement had them skyrocketing with anxiety.

Bunny paused his pacing when he realized what Emily Jane mentioned. "Wait, Jack's court?"

"Um yeah, he never told you?" Bedelia laughed at the Guardians' confusion. "Oh wow, typical Frost."

"Bedelia, you are belittling our generous hosts," Erantha scolded the other leader.

Ashun looked over the two before apologizing, "I am quite sorry for my fellow Sovereigns' rude behavior."

Sandy shrugged and shaped a question mark above his head with a snowflake and a crown.

"Oh yes, if you're to help us find him, you must know his identity of course. It's such a pity that he hasn't told you yet, hmm."

"Tell us what, Ashun?" North cocked his head. He had to know what Jack was hiding from them and why.

Mother Nature spoke for the gentleman, "Jack Frost is the Sovereign of Winter."

What? Jack was snowballs and fun times, not hard work and deadlines. He even said so himself!

"Wha? Did I hear ya wrong, Emily Jane?"

Bedelia rose an eyebrow. "It's not that surprising. I mean, he obviously is a winter spirit, and a powerful one at that."

"My concern is that why did he not tell you yet. Has it not been two years since he joined your ranks?" Erantha voiced out.

Tooth peered down when she noticed Sandy tugging on one of her feathers. "Yeah, Sandy?"

The short man created an image of a calendar flipping pages and a snowflake with a crown above it.

"Jack's been one for a long time?"

Sandy shook his head. A clock replaced the calendar and two people talking were next to the snowflake.

"Jack told you about it before?"

A vigorous nod answered her. The others, who were looking at the conversation, were startled.

Bunny was the first to ask, "When did frostbite tell ya?"

Sandy signed, _"274 years ago."_

"What?! Why do you not say till now?" North questioned.

A pair of lips with an x sign. _"He told me not to."_

"Why?" Bedelia demanded.

Sandy shrugged. _"I don't know."_

Yuki replied, startling the Guardians that completely forgot about her, "Ou-sama told me that he believed you would treat him differently and not accept him."

"Who's Ou-sama?" Tooth asked.

"Ou-sama is the honorific I gave to Jack. It is used to address a king or any other male leader."

The four digested the explanation until Bunny froze.

"That makes no sense!" the Pooka exclaimed, "Why'd we do somethin' like that?"

"Have you not heard about all the acts Ou-sama has done? How rumors have him as a vile, violent spirit?" Yuki deadpanned when all she got was silence. "How he slayed over half of Blaze's army in the Summer and Winter War of 1934, and inevitable slaughtered the Sovereign of Summer in the final battle?"

"Our Sweet Tooth did that?" Tooth whispered.

"It is only a bit of what he has done."

The Guardians glanced at each other, speechless.

"See? This was what he was afraid of even if he deserves his Guardianship. No matter everything he has done, has gone through, Ou-sama is still a kind-hearted, naive and innocent spirit who desperately needs someone to care for him. I can only do so much, for I am too emotionless to properly give him the family that he dreams of. Do not dare remove his title because of what he was forced to do, or else you will have to face me."

Bunny held his hands in a surrender position. "Alright, we won't bother Frostbite."

"Good," Yuki hissed, "Now, we need to plan on how to get Ou-sama back."

"Then why'd ya come ta us?"

Bedelia rolled her eyes. "We, or at least I, thought that you could help us find him. Like, don't you have a tracking device on him or something just in case he goes missing?"

"No," North said glumly, "I offered but he refused to wear it."

"Of course." Erantha sighed. "Yuki-Onna told me that would be the case on the journey here. He was given a tracker made by one of the Generals in the 1900s; however, he later froze it and Yuki-Onna found the destroyed device on his bed."

Bedelia snorted along with Bunny, Jack's top two rivals expecting the winter spirit to do something like that.

North proclaimed, "What we do now? Anyone have leads on where to find Hel?"

"Oh no." Mother Nature shook her head. "Helheim is sealed away from most of the Spirit World. The only way for a spirit to reach it is by the sparse portals around the world. Even then, only a Death spirit or one with Hel's permission may enter."

"Still, didn't Yuki get in Helheim the last time Jack was kidnapped by her?" Bedelia commented.

"Yes, but it was only because Sabrina let me in the catacombs."

Bunny ruffled his fur. "So, what can we do now?"

"Nothing, I suppose." Yuki bit her lip. "Though, we could always try to find one of the portals…"

"Why not go to the one you used last time?"

That was the exact same question North had.

Yuki sighed. "Because Toothiana, most of the portals change locations. There are some permanent ones; however, they are heavily camouflaged. Last time, I went through one in Norway, and it transferred to another location."

"We must think of the positive."

"Like what North?" Bedelia huffed, "Jack is kidnapped by a sadist, who's known to break people with the cruelest torture methods, and a member of his court, that has an abnormally large infatuation with him, plus we have no leads as to how to get him back! So, I can't see anything positive here!"

"That may be true, Shelia, but don't lose hope on findin' him."

"I'm not giving up, I was stating the obvious! If I had, then why'd I say to come here?"

"Ta meh, it looked like ya lost hope! Especially with yer rant!"

"I wasn't ranting, I was stating the obvious!"

"Of course ya were. Tell meh, does a sadist and traitor sound bloody good to ya?!"

"No, but I was trying to show North the real gravity of the problem!"

"Well, wouldn't ya lose hope if ya thought like that?!"

"No, cuz hope and optimism aren't the same thing!"

"They are tha same!""

"No, it isn't!"

"Yeah, it is!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

"ENOUGH!" Mother Nature's yell boomed throughout the Pole, stunning all the elves and yetis as a snowstorm pounded the windows.

They just unleashed Mother Nature's infamous temper.

North was the first one to recover, saying, "Is there ideal climate for portal?"

"Not that we know of," Ashun replied while calming down his queen.

Bedelia coughed to get everyone's attention. "How about dark, creepy and paranormal?"

"Why that, Shelia?"

"Well Rabbit, we're talking about a death goddess. All death spirits live in spooky homes. Why not the portals be the same?"

Yuki nodded, responding calmly. "The area I had gone through was a dead field full of decaying corpses. Very foreboding."

 _'How can she talk so nonchalantly about death?'_ North thought as he stared at her, ' _Then again, is Yuki-Onna specialty.'_

"Okay, yikes," Bedelia prompted, "So, does anyone know of any _permanent_ skin-crawling places? And no, not Jack-O Lantern's Cavern."

There goes North's idea.

After a minute of silence, Sandy flashed a golden image of a hole under a bed.

"Pitch Black's lair!" Tooth blurted out.

North pursed his lips. "Jack said lair is at Burgess."

"Ou-sama mentioned that we were fighting on Pitch Black's territory," Yuki added.

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room, except for Yuki, screamed, forcing Yuki to cover her ears.

"How'd ya two end up at tha bloke's lair!"

"Lured." Yuki returned the Pooka's heated stare.

"May you please explain the procedure as to how you were lured?"

The Head Seasonal turned her attention to the Spring Monarch, Yuki's annoyed expression immediately dropping.

"Of course. A snow squall was brewing around the area Ou-sama and I were conversing. He failed to disperse the storm, and when he detected the energy as another's, he grew suspicious. That was when an ice trail appeared. Ou-sama skated along it with me in tow, and it stopped at the bed."

Erantha sighed. "Jack was always very careless. Now, he is paying for that trait."

"Yes, he is," Yuki agreed solemnly, "Let us hope that Hel will not ruin that characteristic."

North wondered what could make the court scared of this 'Hel' person. However, it was Bunny who voiced the question out.

"Wha's so bad about tha goddess?"

Yuki closed her eyes in sadness, letting out a breath. North was surprised to see tears rolling down the immortal being's cheeks, the fat drops freezing at her chin.

"The l-last time Ou-sama was taken, he—he never recovered from it yet," Yuki muttered hoarsely, eyes going out of focus, "I remember how terrifying he looked when I saved him…every last pore of his skin covered by burns, welts or soot. To think Hel's methods have gotten even more violent since then."

The other occupants decided to drop the conversation.

Mother Nature announced, "Yuki-Onna, who is the Winter Sovereign's regime?"

"I am, Lady Nature." Yuki was scraping off the tear tracks frozen onto her chilled skin; however, that moment of vulnerability was already walled. North would come to realize that Jack used a similar mask, except smiles replaced nonchalance.

The goddess nodded approvingly. "Good. We must prepare for the coronation."

"Coronation?" Tooth quirked her head to the side.

"Yes, who will do Jack Frost's duties as a Sovereign?" Ashun explained, "Yuki-Onna will be crowned as the Winter Sovereign until Jack Frost has returned and is fully healed to receive the crown. Do you have someone as your Head Seasonal?"

"Old Man Winter of course. Him or Eira, the Snow Queen. I have not decided yet."

Bedelia clamped a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll do great as Jack's regime. I mean, you were perfectly fine in the two decades you were Sovereign."

"No, I was not. The whole court went into anarchy to the point where Morona and Boreas were begging for Jack's return." Yuki peered at the window that was repressing the North Wind's furious howling. "I do hope that Ou-sama will be found."

"Same here," Bedelia, Erantha and Ashun declared fiercely.

Bedelia continued, "And I will search high and low for him, no matter what the court tells me."

"I will aid Yuki in her scavenging at the Boogeyman's lair," Erantha swore.

Ashun topped it off. "I shall talk to the leaves and the winds with Mother Nature's help."

The five finished, clearly wanting the Guardians to go on, North being the first to notice.

North stated, "Tooth and Sandy are busy 24/7 but they keep watch out for Jack on free time. Bunny is preparing for Easter, so he search after holiday. I am free, so I will scour through books in Pole's library and help Yuki-Onna and Erantha with looking at Pitch's home, da?"

The other three Guardians gave signs of agreement.

Tooth smiled. "I'll send some of my girls throughout the world whenever they are free and all will be on the lookout as they collect the teeth."

 _"I'll let the sand go free reign."_ Golden lettering floated above Sandy's head. _"So that I can look too."_

"It seems like we all know our roles in this search," Mother Nature proclaimed, "With each other's aid, we may all find Jack in a relatively short time. Nevertheless, my court needs rest for the long day tomorrow. Guardians, you may come to the ceremony as you wish, and you all are granted with special permission from myself."

With a quick round of thanks and small goodbyes, both parties split up, each member worrying about their missing colleague.

Before leaving, someone stared at the moon above and whispered three words:

 _"Please be okay."_

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Yeah, I just wrote a 3,000+ worded filler gosh. Well, it explains a ton of stuff...or leaves more questions idk. Well, have fun with this chapter. Hey, at least you people learned what Yuki meant by calling Jack Ou-sama! I say that's a win win for me!**

 **Stay in tune for more updates and please drop in reviews! I wanna see how people think about my first fanfic :P oh and here's this thing.**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**


	8. Chapter 6

**Heeeeeeey, I updated within 20 days! Give me credit people, I'm binge read like crazy and dying by piles of books. HELP MEH! Anyway, looks like I got another guest reader to respond too!**

 **coward: Thanks for the compliment!**

 **Now, you have NO IDEA how happy I am to have over 20 followers for this! Thanks to those who fav and followed my fanfic and remember that I answer to ALL reviews, guest or not. Now, onto the chappie!**

 **Oops, almost forgot! Thanks to the incredible Angelicat2 for reading through this in substitute for my regular beta GoddessofTechnology! Chapter 5 was proofread by one of my irl friends who doesn't go on fanfiction but still. So, expect this chapter, Chapter 5 and some future ones to be reposted once my beta beta returns from her vaca.**

 ***Edit 7/23* I honestly didn't like it so I lengthened it a bit. Enjoy!**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Hel's Catacombs)

Deadly silence greeted Jack as he slowly woke, darkness wrapped around him in a cocoon. There was nothing else: no cracking ice, no screams of terror, no suffocating water. Just his two constant companions, darkness and silence.

It was an understatement to say that Jack was surprised by the drowned out voices a beat later.

 _"Breathing."_

 _"…heartbeat."_

 _"—twitching?"_

Jack swore that he heard these people before, yet why can't he remember them? If only he had enough strength to ask them instead of the feeble croak that left his mouth.

 _"Still no heartbeat."_

 _"What the—stop twitching."_

 _"Jack…show—wake up."_

There again. Their voices were so familiar, especially the third one, and Jack had no idea why. Who could these people be?

 _"Jack, please wake up! …lose you."_

Now that snapped him out of his reverie. Out of all of them, this girl's voice was the one that Jack recognized the best. However, he still couldn't link a name to the person calling for him.

 _"At least say something!"_

Jack scrunched his brows in concentration. Who _was_ she?

Yuki? No, her voice is much less emotional. Morana? The goddess literally would rather torture him to death.

Ma'at?

Wait, but Ma'at told him she hated that title, the title of her deceased mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Then, what was her name?

Neve? Nef?

Wait— _Nefra_?

The voice cheered, _"Yes, oh yes Jack! Recognize anyone else?"_

Jack found the energy to reply, "No."

 _"It's fine, Sabrina…happen."_

Wait, Sabrina was there? She'd only come if someone's…oh dear gods! Maybe Nefra said the wrong name or he heard her wrong.

Though, just in case, he rasped, "Sabrina?"

 _"Mhmm! She's right here…wake up."_

Wait, wasn't he already awake? Jack spoke this out.

 _"Huh? No Jack, you're still asleep."_

He was? That made no sense because then he wouldn't be having this conversation.

 _"Can you open your eyes?"_

"No."

 _"Wait, what?"_

Jack heard some mumbling before she returned.

 _"Okay, Sabrina says this is normal."_

Before Jack could question her, a surge of light blinded him.

He screamed.

* * *

Once Jack's vision cleared, he was face to face with a teenager that was merely a few years older than him physically, probably nineteen or twenty.

Her curled, orange and black locks were tied in a messy ponytail. A golden necklace held a glowing pumpkin charm, contrasting with her nearly pale skin. Adorning her lithe body were a pair of black jeans, and an orange shirt that was peeking out from an unbuttoned, black jacket. Her hands were against Jack's bare chest, laced together.

However, Jack knew this person as Sabrina Hallows, the Spirit of Halloween.

With her were two other black haired adults, a female and male, who he knew that he was safe with, even if he couldn't remember their names.

Then, that's when his gaze fell onto _her_.

She was physically fourteen years old, and the youngest out of them all, but she held enough wisdom to almost surpass Athena. Her black hair was a dirty tangle above her head, purple dress ripped to shreds and covered in her golden blood. Brown eyes peered into his cerulean, worry etched in her features. Of course Nefra would be panicking, she always did that whenever something went wrong.

The question was, what was wrong?

"Sabrina? Nefra?" Jack croaked out at long last.

"Yes Jack, it is nice to see you again after so long." Sabrina smiled, orange eyes looking at him.

Jack slowly nodded his head. "Wh-where am I?"

"Uh, where do you think frost-for-brains? Hel's stupid cell," the black haired woman, the one who Jack couldn't recognize, said.

"Who are you?" Jack wispy voice didn't reach any of their ears.

Nefra glared at the woman who yelled at him, either ignoring him or just not hearing him. "Seriously?"

"What? Isn't it obvious where the shit we are?"

Jack frowned, his question still not answered. He tried again, forcing out each syllable loudly. "Who. Are. You?"

"What the fuck." The black haired person finally heard him, glaring into his soul with her electric blue eyes. "Are you damn telling me you don't know who the hell I am?!"

Jack cringed and twitched in response, causing water to shoot up through his mouth.

"Ciara!" Nefra shouted at the person again, "What was that for?! He probably has brain trauma."

"From what, stupidity?" Ciara, as Jack finally remembered, responded.

Nefra gave her a death stare. "From lack of oxygen!"

"Well it's obvious he doesn't need to breathe if he survived three hours without it!"

"Ciara, he didn't even have a friggin pulse!"

When the argument reached at the loudest, the black, spiky haired man walked over and slapped both goddesses on the head. "Morons, are you not noticing what your foolish quarreling is doing to Frost?"

Nefra and Ciara slowly turned towards where Jack was lying to see a wide eyed, shivering Jack curled up against his side, hands clutching ears, as his mouth bubbled with more water. Sabrina futilely tried to ease the pain by lifting his legs slightly higher and massaging his back.

"Jack?" Nefra gasped as she dashed toward the teen, helping Sabrina treat him instantly.

"Why's he so scared?" Ciara voiced out.

"He most likely doesn't remember you," Sabrina paused her ministrations as she gathered her thoughts, "or at least most of you. It looks like as if he knows that you two met before, but not who you are. When you yelled at him, that was the breaking point."

"Oh." Ciara blinked, for once crestfallen.

Nefra turned to her then back to Jack in an instant. "Hey, Jack?"

Jack merely ripped his gaze at her, too tired and terrified to reply.

The girl pressed on, "The loudness is over now. You can uncover your ears." Once Jack did so, she continued, her voice even softer, "Can you remember their names?"

The boy shook his head. "Only Ciara. Not the tall man."

Nefra laughed. "Well, that tall man is Pitch Black, the Boogeyman. Also, Ciara is Adrestia too. Remember now?"

Yes, he did. Those two names got his brain to catch up with the present.

" _Oh_."

Sabrina closed her eyes, sighing. "Thank you, Nefra. May you hand me my bag beside you?"

Once Nefra gave the satchel to her, Sabrina stuck her head into the opening, rummaging through it. Nefra, on the other hand, had the urge check his pulse again and softly pressed two fingers along the carotid artery of Jack's neck.

Five seconds later, with wide eyes, Nefra frantically jabbed at the side of Jack's neck, then his wrist.

"Pitch, find his pulse on his foot!"

Jack glanced at Nefra. "Hu—? Hahaha!"

Ciara snickered. "Who would've thought that Jack Frost was ticklish?"

"HAHAHA! Stahahahap!" Laughs took over him as he squirmed under Pitch's touch."

At last, Pitch decided to finally drop Jack's foot and answered, "No pulse."

"No pulse?!" Nefra screamed, "Jack's dying!"

"Huh?" Jack warily looked at Nefra. "I feel pretty okay right now."

The Halloween spirit's voice was muffled by the course material of the bag as she spoke, "Do not fret, Nefra. Jack does not have a heartbeat."

"Wait, so I was right about Frosty here being made of snow?" Ciara joked.

Nefra thunked the other goddess's head. "Not now Cici. Are you serious though, Sabrina?"

"Yes I am. Jack told me about his heartbeat issue after I first checked him. It seems that he has frozen blood."

Nefra responded, "Oh yeah, Jack said that during the war!"

"War?" Sabrina questioned, still searching for whatever it was that she wanted.

Ciara lifted a brow. "Mhmm, the Winter and Summer War of 1934? Jack was stabbed so many times in one of the first battles that Nefra fussed over him nonstop for a week." The spirit she was explaining to merely hummed absentmindedly.

Suddenly, Sabrina's head popped up from the dark green satchel, her hand carefully holding a small, white pill. "Found it!"

"What'd you find?" Ciara placed herself between Nefra and Sabrina.

"It's a pill made out of pure moonlight," Sabrina answered as she crouched over Jack, "It helps with moon spirits like Jack since Tsar Lunar's magic correlates with moonbeams."

Sabrina then gently tilted Jack's head up. "Open up! Make sure you chew this until it dissolves completely, like any other pill."

He complied while the spirit giving him the medicine grinned reassuringly as she explained, "Jack also has healing magic that's only slightly subdued by the iron shackles, so it'll kick in even more to overcome any trauma he sustained."

Jack's eyes widened when he felt a tendril of pleasant warmth wrapped around him. He rejected the instinct to curl up in delight and instead let loose a moan-like sigh.

"Is Frost alright?" Pitch asked.

Jack opened his eyes, noticing that Pitch was leaning towards him. "Mhmm, just feels niiiiice…"

The treater beamed while she got up. "Good, that's the side effect of the moonbeams. Pure bliss; though, it only lasts a few moments."

"What do you mean?" Nefra asked, leaning against a stone wall.

Sabrina replied curtly, "Moonbeams have this property of bringing joy."

"I know that, but why does the high last a few seconds? Don't the moonbeam stay for a while?"

The orange and black haired spirit shrugged. "I don't know why. I suppose it's because they trigger the healing process later?"

"So?"

Ciara, already losing concentration on the conversation, glanced at the curled up Jack against the wall and blurted out, "Still doesn't explain why he's acting like a drug addict."

Sabrina pursed her lips. "He did something similar the first time. I guess people react to it differently."

Nefra, who was still next to the winter teen, slowly edged away from him, only to freeze when Jack buried his head into her lap. Soon, much to the others' amusement, Nefra subconsciously began to run her fingers through his hair.

Ciara cooed, "Ship it."

"Oh shut." Nefra's glare didn't last long as Jack started humming.

Pitch whispered in Sabrina's ear, "When will the drowsiness wear off?"

"In a few seconds," the spirit responded, eyes never leaving the scene, a smirk growing on her face.

After more than a few seconds, Jack blinked open his eyes, his irises glowing for a second. Nefra hadn't noticed, the reason why she was still petting him.

Jack yawned, then stared at Nefra in confusion.

The goddess dropped her hand. "Uhhh, hi?"

"Hi." Jack smirked, picking himself off of Nefra's lap.

When Jack noticed her blush, he started chuckling, nervous giggles from Nefra mixing with his laughter.

Ciara merely grinned deviously. "Been shipping this from the moment I saw you two."

Jack and Nefra, in response, crossed their arms at the same time. "Shut it."

Their poor attempt earned more laughs, even a snort from Pitch. The two being shipped locked eyes for a moment and dropped their act, joining in on the laughter.

They stopped when a male outside called out, "Sabrina, Mistress is calling for you!"

Even with Jack's scrambled mind, he oddly remembered that voice. "Did I ever hear him before?"

Sabrina smiled gently, picking up the discarded hand shackles off the floor. "Yes, he was the servant who came during your session, Acheron."

"Session?" Jack's gaze then fell onto the restraints in the spirit's hands, causing him to rub his own wrists. "Do you have to?"

"Mhmm," Sabrina numbly replied, "Acheron and I are still planning on your four's escape."

Ciara held out her hands as Sabrina snapped on the metal. "Why haven't you finished the plans?"

"Because," Sabrina started while she bound Pitch with the shadow links and locked him into his shady corner, "Mother made sure you four couldn't escape from her with my help. This is why I'm waiting for the Guardians to find the portal, or at least the Seasonal Court."

"They're looking for us?"

"Of course," Sabrina answered Jack's question, "They know where you are since Mother didn't make your kidnapping very subtle. She must've been impatient to get you."

"Do you have to go?" Nefra whined, concern lighting her eyes.

Sabrina nodded her head, ruffling Nefra's hair carefully. "Yes Neffie, for this plan to work, I must be on my mother's and grandfather's good side."

"Mistress is growing impatient!" Acheron's voice echoed through the room.

Sabrina clicked the ankle chains on the prisoners to the locks against the wall, picking up her bag.

"Well, I best be off." Sabrina froze half way up the first flight of stairs and warned, "Before I go, remember what I tell you. Nefra, be prepared to get a visit from Hel next. Ciara, watch out for grandfather. Kozmotis, do not crack under the strain of the weakened fearlings warring within you, be strong. And Jack…"

Jack looked up, connecting with Sabrina's grave expression.

"Do not dare utter your parent's names, nor your human name." Her typically warm, orange irises held a dangerous glint in them. "No matter what."

With that, Sabrina climbed up the rest of the stairwell and left the cell.

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Hehe, yeah another short update. In my excuse, I rewrote this twice! Now, please don't be scared of reviewing, favoriting and following cuz I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! :3 Like, the motivation! You don't even know xD Oh yeah, here's this thing:**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**


	9. Chapter 7

**Hey, I did say I was going to rewrite this! Tho, still not beta read haha. Expect another rewrite soon, but first enjoy.**

 ***FINALLY BETA READ on 8/26/17. Thank you GoddessOfTechlology for wasting your time on this horrible fanfic!**

* * *

(Winter Palace)

Yuki was honestly surprised at how quickly the Court swore their loyalties to her at the coronation. Nonetheless, she should have realized they only acted that way for Lady Nature.

She should have realized so before she called the meeting. It was probably why she was stuck with the predicament at hand.

"I still do not understand why would we look for Sovereign Jack Frost."

"He's our Sovereign, General Morana!"

"And? He is supposed to be the strongest out of all of us! If he could not handle the threat, then how can we?"

"He was caught off guard. Sovereign Yuki-Onna said so herself, and she was the only other one there!"

"My point stands, General Gwenith, the Yuki-Onna was the only one there! Could it not be possible her claim is a ruse so that she could be crowned Sovereign for an indefinite amount of time?"

"Show some respect to Sovereign Yuki-Onna, General Morana!"

"Why would I ever respect a Yuki-Onna?"

"She is the Sovereign's regent!"

"So, just because she is a regent does not mean I have to show respect to her."

"You were General Boreas's regent! If he went out of commission, then would you have not taken his position?"

"I was not the regent, Khione was, you absolute fool! And of course General Boreas never went out of commission; he was much more powerful than Sovereign Jack Frost."

 _How did Ou-sama keep himself from growing insane?_

"The point of the Sovereign is that they ARE the most powerful! Who are you to question Sovereign Jack Frost's title?"

Yuki let loose a sigh through her nose and held up her hand. "That is enough General Gwenith, thank you. General Morana, stop accusing me of treason or else you shall face the wrath of Lady Nature. She believes my story to be true, so there is no doubt that I did not cheat my way for this title. Now, both of you, sit."

The two immediately complied, the young Gwenith trying to control the frost spreading on his white pantsuit, Morana's icy blue glare creating a tension thick enough to cut with a knife. However, Yuki decided to ignore them as there were more important matters to be addressed.

"Now, where was I?" Yuki began as she started to pace, "Oh yes. I wanted to ask all of you to help assist Lady Nature and I to find the missing Sovereign. Are there any volunteers?"

"I am sorry to interject," Old Man Winter spoke, holding up a wrinkled hand, "but I agree with General Morana. How can we trust that you are not the one who kidnapped Sovereign Jack Frost?"

Yuki closed her eyes before making eye contact with Old Man Winter's black irises. "I can reassure you that my story has been validated by Lady Nature herself."

"What is this story?" Beira asked, the Giant's only eye peering at Yuki.

Yuki pursed her lips. "The only information that I can give with Lady Nature's permission is that both of us were fighting with Hel," she paused when her gaze fell on Khione's smug smirk, "and a masked person."

"A masked person, you say?" the snow goddess commented, "Isn't it humorous how a ruthless goddess that never appeared for a century would be the one to take Sovereign Jack Frost? That and a _veiled_ person?"

"Yes, quite charming," Boreas added, fingers crossed together on the white marble table top, "Are you positive that we could believe you, Sovereign Yuki-Onna?"

Yuki fought the urge to place her hands on the half of the table reserved for her and Ou-sama and politely responded, "Have you forgotten that Hel already held Sovereign Jack Frost captive before?"

"Was that not a century ago?" Khione questioned in a velvety voice, "Surely Hel would have attempted to kidnap him sooner?"

Instead of Yuki answering back, it was the only Native American spirit, Yas, that did so, "From the millennia the Gods have known Hel, she is a manipulative idiot who likes playing with her targets. It's possible that she sought revenge for J— _Sovereign_ Jack Frost and took her time planning for her next attack."

Yuki smiled at the adolescent, "Thank you, Yas."

"However, Hel is not known to captivate the same spirit twice," Morana chimed in.

"Have you forgotten about how Jack literally stayed there for two decades?" Gwendolyn voiced out, "And that he still didn't break? Hel must've been angry for that."

"I suppose," Khione reasoned, "but who was the masked person?"

For some reason, her question got the whole room to explode into a ceaseless discussion, Yuki growing more exasperated with her failed tries at bringing order to the court.

It was a wonder that Ou-sama could keep this court so under control!

Just when Yuki thought of ceasing her attempts, General Gwendolyn came up to her, a pair of gloves in one hand.

"These'll help amplify your power; Gwenith and I built them last night for you," Gwendolyn whispered in Yuki's ear before handing them to her and edging back to her brother.

Yuki stared at the silk gloves in concealed awe.

 _Thank goodness for those twins._

She fumbled with the gloves until she finally managed to slip them on. Coincidentally, the ice blue fabric matched with the sparkling gems on her royal blue gown.

 _Now, where do I direct the—_

Unexpectedly, a shot of ice blasted from Yuki's outstretched hand, hitting Morana in the face. Yuki, on the other hand, was sent back a few steps from the recoil.

The whole Court looked at Morana with mixed expressions ranging from amusement to total shock, the room silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Morana was glaring daggers at the frozen, haphazard Yuki as she tried to claw off the growing frost on her face.

"Ummm," Gwendolyn stared at her new Sovereign with wide eyes, "Well, that was an unexpected result."

"Of course you two would give the Sovereign a defective machine!" Morana cried, "Why won't this stubborn frost get off?!"

"Wait, General Morana," Yuki said, "your temper is only making it worse."

"My temper?! I have an excuse for it!"

Yuki held up her hands. "I know you do; however, the frost will only continue to grow if you are not calm."

Morana grouchily complied, blue eyes twitching in suppressed anger.

Slowly, the frost receded, a trace easily pluckable still left. The goddess flicked off the particle and went back to her earlier position.

Once Morana calmed down, Yuki stripped off the gloves and handed them to Gwendolyn. "You two should fix any bugs, or try to deamplify the power to a level low enough for me to control."

The twin nodded their heads as Gwenith pocketed the device. Yuki stepped back to the front, peering at the other members.

"I believe everything has been solved, correct?"

Taking the silence as a yes, Yuki continued, "As I was saying Lady Nature and the Guardians will be conducting a search party. I ask that any volunteers raise their hands, please."

Four hands went up: Gwenith, Gwendolyn, Yas, and… Khione.

Yuki wished to groan. She knew what the snow goddess was up to, but how to stop her from joining?

"I am sorry to say I can only bring three members with me."

"Why are you to bring three?" Khione asked.

Yuki stared at her. "The Guardians only require three. Now, if none of you are to drop out—"

"I feel like we should eliminate Khione from the group," Yas interrupted, earning a few looks from the others.

"We agree too!" Gwendolyn and Gwenith added.

Yuki was internally grateful for those three. "I accept those terms. Now, this meeting has come to a conclusion. However, Generals Gwendolyn, Gwenith and Yas, please follow me."

* * *

 **Yeaaaaah, I completely suck at writing filler chapters. Especially filler chapters with meetings. I'm so sorry for this chapter, but hey, this guarantees that my next one will be twice as great!**

 **Okay, I'm not buying it either. Just know that I've officially started high school as a freshman and It. Sucks. How the heck am I supposed to understand all this stuff augh, I just wanna slam a pencil through my brain and be done with life.**

 **Before my monthly sign off, here's the OC list! (I'm not adding all the other Winter Court members cuz there are 17 members total and yeah LONG AF LISTS SUCK)**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**


	10. Chapter 8

**Yes, I'm not dead! I'm very sorry for yet another long wait for a chapter! I know, I suck but alas, life does too xD**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Hel's Catacombs)

Even though the moonbeams returned most of Jack's memories, it still took a few hours after Sabrina's "check up" for him to comprehend what happened. While Jack was confused about the whole ordeal, Nefra was thinking about the cause of his loss of memory. At the end, Nefra concluded that Jack lost his memories because of psychological shock since Jack said Hel waterboarded him, and with his memory of drowning, it was no surprise that he'd be a bit traumatized from that.

While Nefra was glad that he was all better, Jack quickly became bored without any confusion, and a bored Jack is someone nobody wants to be with.

"I spy with my little eye something… black?"

"Jack, everything here is fucking black," Ciara snapped.

The winter spirit grumbled back, "At least I'm trying to lighten up the mood."

"We understand that you are, but please just stop Frost," Pitch piped up from his corner of the dungeon.

Jack crossed his arms and replied in a sing-song voice, "Eh, I don't see why I sho~uld."

Ciara huffed, "Gah, this is so boring."

"Well, maybe because you're boring."

Nefra shook her head, _oh those two_. "Guys, don't start another argument. Just be glad that none of us have been sent yet."

"To be honest, I'd rather get tortured by her than sit here and die from boredom with Jack Frost," Ciara replied.

"Wait, what? What's the problem with me?"

"I dunno, the fact that you exist?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Nope."

"What's my existence got to do with anything?"

"Everything."

"Really? How?!"

"Well, first…"

For the last couple of days, with all the free time in the world, Jack and Ciara decided to take up their old rivalry. Basically, that meant that they would argue _nonstop_ about anything in general. Heck, they argued about socks for an hour!

Yes, _socks_.

That explained why Nefra had the urge to bang her head against the wall till she fell unconscious.

Before she could do so, Pitch interrupted her thoughts with a sigh. "Is this not the fifth time?"

"Seventh," Nefra automatically corrected him while her brown eyes glared at the quarreling duo.

Pitch stared at the girl. "You were counting?"

"Yeah," Nefra answered, looking back at Pitch, "You should see them during the equinox and solstice. Their highest record was fifteen, until Mother Nature stormed in and threatened to freeze their mouths if they started again."

"Sounds like Emily Jane."

Nefra shrugged her shoulders to the best of her ability. "Not really, she's more temperate than that. Though, she does get angered easily."

Pitch hummed, "Exactly."

The two fell back into silence as they listened to the argument.

This scenario was honestly killing her. These two shouldn't focus on bickering over one another, but focus on finding a way out of here. Better yet, they should be focused on who will be the next subject, even if Nefra wanted to jump off a bridge at the moment.

While her mind wandered off in another world, Nefra still heard Jack's indignant shout echo through the room. "I'm not a nuisance!"

"You damn are with all your pranks!"

"You do the same thing!"

"At least I don't do them as much as you do!"

"Mine aren't as harmful as yours!"

"Hey, none of my pranks ever killed someone!"

"Your pranks hurt others!"

"So does freezing tongues and making people slip over ice!"

 _Ugh, can they not be so loud!_ Nefra internally screamed. _Hel will hear them._

As if reading Nefra's thoughts, a loud thud outside quieted the two.

"Um, what's that?" Ciara asked.

Jack added, "Please don't tell me Ciara jinxed us again."

"I didn't jinx anything!" Ciara screamed.

"You did!"

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

Another loud thump ricocheted across the room, with a grumble telling them to shut up. The two arguers did so.

Before Nefra could relish the second of silence, the door banged open, revealing a very startled Sabrina next to a bulky guard who towered above her.

"I have unlocked the door for you, Mistress," the man replied in the gruff voice they heard earlier.

Sabrina fidgeted with the strap of the green medical bag slung around her shoulder. "Yes, I can see that. Thank you."

"Anything for you, Mistress." The guard stepped aside, showing the adolescent cowering behind him carrying a pile of what seemed to be heavy, iron chains. The near adult looked through his black bangs towards the group of prisoners, as if he were afraid they would harm him.

After a moment, Sabrina began to descend the stairwell. Noticing that the teen wasn't following, the guard pushed him with a beefy hand, nearly making him fall down. Shaking, the teen started following the Halloween spirit.

As Sabrina descended down the obsidian stairs, Nefra couldn't help but notice the nearly invisible, dried tear tracks on Sabrina's cheeks gleaming under the torch light. Once Sabrina reached the ground, the guard slammed the door shut, scaring the teen enough for him to topple over, getting himself tangled within the chains he was carrying as he rolled down.

All of them grimaced when he hit the floor with a thud.

"Are you okay, Acheron?" Sabrina asked, kneeling down so she could help him disentangle himself from the chains.

"I am alright, Master," Acheron responded as he slipped off the links.

Nefra, not knowing what else to do, said awkwardly, "Um, hi Sabrina?"

"Hello to you as well, Nefra," Sabrina smiled at her, the grin looking more like a grimace.

"Everything alright, Bri?" Jack asked as he stared skeptically at her.

"Unfortunately…no." Sabrina sighed. "Mother asked me to retrieve—"

Apparently the guard decided to interrupt her and banged the door open once more. "The insolent servant dropped your keys, Mistress!"

With that, he threw down the set of keys he was twirling on his finger and hit Acheron on the hip. The poor teen yelped, falling down in pain.

"Is there anything else you shall need?" the guard called out from outside of the cell.

Nefra grimaced at Acheron's state. "Hey, at least it wasn't a knife?"

Soon, a jeweled knife was thrown into the cell as well, but Acheron managed to dodge it on time.

The prisoners stared at the weapon that was lodged in the floor.

"At least—"

Ciara clamped Nefra's mouth shut with one of her hands, still peering at the knife. "Don't even say anything."

Nefra merely nodded her head.

"You should sit down, Acheron," Sabrina said as she took the keys and tried to get the teen down on the ground.

Acheron shook his head. "No, it is alright, Master. Also, we came to retrieve you, Ma'at."

Nefra simply stretched out her hands to allow Sabrina to unlock the shackles binding her to the wall, mildly shocked at* Acheron's directness. The black haired teen merely limped towards her and attached some chains to the hooks of her restraints. Before the three could move, Hel's shout startled all the inhabitants of the cell.

Acheron's eyes widened in fear. "We should hurry up, Master, before Mistress hangs us both!"

Sabrina, still nonchalant, grabbed the set of chains and started walking out with Acheron in tow, the jeweled knife thrown down strapped to her waist.

* * *

As the trio walked down the hall, Nefra broke the silence with her question: "Why were you guys picking me up?"

Sabrina kept strolling in the front, not looking back as she replied, "Mother caught me."

"What?"

Acheron looked around hastily, seeing a few guards, before replying quietly. "Master was trying to sneak in a key to the cell during the duration of Jack Frost's healing," Acheron replied, dark brown eyes connecting with Nefra's, "Mistress thought it would be the best punishment if Master were to retrieve her next convert."

"Hmm," Nefra hummed as she too swept her gaze around the occupied hallway. Why does Acheron call Sabrina Master instead of calling Hel Master?

Before they could submerge into silence once more, Acheron said suddenly, "I cannot believe Mistress is converting such young spirits."

Nefra curtly responded, "I'm not young."

"Master said you were only three hundred and sixteen years old," the servant countered, picking at a thread on his dark green tunic, "That is very young for a spirit, much less a goddess. You are merely a child."

"I guess so." Nefra looked down at her shredded purple dress. _The last one papa gave._ "But I'm not sure if I'm mentally a child anymore."

Acheron muttered, "None of us are."

With nothing else left to say, the three walked along quietly.

Once they reached a door, Sabrina sighed. "It appears that we are here."

Nefra stared at the heavy, iron door with a four, in Old Norse, scratched into it as she picked at the crumbly rust along the frame. _Or was it something else?_

Sabrina glanced at her before shouting, "Mother we are here!"

"And? I am waiting!" was Hel's response.

If glares were a weapon, then the door would have disintegrated under the force of Sabrina's as she pulled out a key ring. Fiddling with them until she found the right one, Sabrina unlocked the door, Acheron pushing it open with a groan.

Inside was a nearly barren room, empty except for the metal table, a set of chairs, a small sink engraved into the wall, and a stool with something akin to a medical tray sitting on top. Hel was on one of the seats, playing with the plunger of a syringe that held a writhing, black mass.

Nefra knew exactly what that mass was.

"Hello Mother," Sabrina droned in a gloomy tone, "Do you need any more assistance?"

Hel set down the injection onto the metal tray and stood up, snatching the iron links in Sabrina's hand, "Yes, in fact, I need you to assist me with chaining her to the table. After that, you may leave."

By Sabrina's distasteful expression, it was clear that she wanted to do anything but leave Nefra alone.

"Of course Mis—Master," Acheron stammered, dragging Hel's attention to him.

"Did I ask for your opinion, Servant?" Hel responded in a steely manner.

"No, Master."

Even though Hel wasn't paying attention, Sabrina still obeyed Hel's commands and set forth to restrain the goddess.

Nefra, on the other hand, didn't know whether to smile or say something to Sabrina. Thus, she decided to keep a neutral face and didn't fight against her, even when the cold steel numbed her.

She knew that there was bound to be worse.

Sharing a tight grin with Nefra, Sabrina left the room, Acheron trailing behind like a guard.

Once the two left, Hel faced Nefra, a small smirk on her face. "Hello Ma'at."

"Just get this over with," Nefra replied tersely.

"I see you want to 'cut to the chase', as they say."

Nefra gave Hel a plain look that said it all.

"Alright then." Hel picked up the syringe she had earlier and, after a moment of thinking, set it back down onto the tray.

Nefra blinked. "Huh?"

Hel chuckled as she chose another shot, this one with something akin to nightmare sand, or better yet, is nightmare sand, swimming within the holder. "You do not presume me as a fool, do you? I know the fearling itself will not work on you."

"I suppose you're right," Nefra replied, "But, what's in there?"

"You'll find out sooner or later, Ma'at."

Nefra felt the prick of the needle before fatigue washed over her.

It _is_ nightmare sand.

Even though she felt every grain of the sand burrow underneath her tissue, felt every grain leave a pinprick of a fiery sensation as they made their journey towards her soul, felt the subsided bundle of fearlings within the center of her soul squirm out and grasp the grains of sand to strengthen themselves, Nefra's eyes drooped, heavy with sleep.

 _Don't fall asleep!_ Nefra told herself as she blinked her eyes harshly.

Hel must've known that she didn't sleep in the cell, or else she would've been consumed by the fearlings. If only Hel would realize that Nefra would die with enough darkness swimming under her skin. After all, she was a harmony spirit by blood, slight more immunity be damned.

She nearly screamed in agony when the second shot was administered, the fearling this time successfully penetrating her core without being weakened, slicing her up as if her body was nothing but margarine. The fragments that remained were swiftly shredded by the other three supposed-to-be weak fearlings, all the meanwhile the nightmare sand swimming around her mind, the only protected part of her.

That is, until they successfully found an opening through her stretched out mind, piercing through it with rabid enthusiasm.

The worst part was, not the fact that she hung over the precipice of sanity, but the feeling of guilt that washed over her, knowing that she failed Jabari.

 _'Stay strong, Nefra.'_

Couldn't he see that she couldn't? She was merely a child, just like everyone else said. Just a child.

 _'We all depend on you.'_

But why her? It was impossible for her to defend the world from entities older and wiser than her. Simply impossible.

 _'Know that you will never be alone.'_

So, when will the loneliness end, Papa? No matter how much she interacted with others, she would always be alone. Burdened with loneliness.

"I failed you Jabari and Papa," Nefra whispered before she stopped fighting.

* * *

(Nightmare)

 _Fire. That was all she could see. The destructive beast consumed all life within sight and left everything else alone._

 _It was funny in a way; the fire only burning away the souls of those that it encompassed, completely ignoring the homes that could add fuel. Actually, the flame seemed to be using the souls they devoured as a food source._

 _However, that didn't make the experience any less painful._

 _There were the cries of babies separated from mothers, cries of the nearly dying, cries from the earth as the inhabitants all shriveled away to dust, one by one._

 _The more she ran into the fire, the more smoke clogged her throat, the stronger the stench of death reeked the air, the weaker her hope became._

 _The flaming inferno nipped at her in earnest, even though she futilely tried to tame the flames. After all, a harmony spirit cannot control the flames of death, the mockery of blue and black in substitute for bright red and orange._

 _Hel's latest creation._

 _She could've sworn that the fire was slowly crawling its way into her body. Ghost like hands left trails of hot pain as they submerged themselves deeper into her heart, as they reached out for the strings of her soul to play with. She didn't want them to taint her, she really didn't, but what defenses did a twelve year old have?_

 _The calling of the elders telling her to come back taunted her with abandonment. It was simple really, just go back and all this misery will be gone._

 _Though, she can't leave Papa behind. Not ever. Ever again._

 _"Papa!"_

 _No response._

 _Now, that would never stop her. Oh no, she merely ran into the flames even more. She already failed him once for being the village misfit, she can't fail him again._

 _"Papa, where are you?"_

 _When she heard a masculine croak, she immediately scrambled to the source. On the way there, a dying woman grabbed her ankle, sending her toppling over a corpse._

 _"Please, help me!" the woman groaned as she held on firmly._

 _She stared back, innocent, brown eyes widening in fear when she saw a shadow creeping towards them. Soon, the beast trampled on top of the withering woman, screams of terror and delight melding into a haunting melody. With a cry, she kicked away from the two and ran as fast as she could._

 _"Papa! Papa! Where are you!" Tears rolled down her face, one by one, like the flames that extinguished life._

 _Even without any reply, she knew where to go, and soon she found him lying in a sea of bodies._

 _"Papa!" she shouted in glee as she tossed the dead out of her way._

 _She was surprised to see him staring at her in shock. "Nefra, go away!"_

 _"No papa, I'm not leaving you behind." she replied, trying to reach out to him._

 _When she did uncover Papa, the sight of his state made her heart drop._

 _Half of his face was covered in blisters, his right eye swollen till all she could see was a sliver of amber. Splotches of burnt flesh painfully hung onto his arms, clothes tattered but not charred. What scared her the most was the small, black arrow buried in his right arm, oozing out bits of black goo._

 _He was infected._

 _"Nefra, please I beg you, run as far away as you can!"_

 _She shook her head in disbelief. No. Nononononono._

 _Of everyone, why must her loved ones be targeted?_

 _"Papa," she whispered._

 _"It is alright, my darling. Please, go for safety."_

 _She glared at the man. "No! I will never leave again!"_

 _"Please, Nefra." He coughed up a blob of black slime. "I do not have much time left."_

 _She merely crouched down and grasped both of his hands, stubbornly staying in place as the darkness swallowed up his right limb._

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _She stared into his amber eyes. "I don't wanna be alone anymore. If you leave, so will I."_

 _Papa shook his head. "Nefra, you are the heiress of your mother's throne. Please, save yourself."_

 _"No! Remember that I'm not the heiress anymore? I have to save you, Papa."_

 _"Nefra—"_

 _"No! I'm staying!"_

 _"Nefra!"_

 _She never heard his voice be so…authoritative._

 _Her surprised expression must've calmed him as he slowly responded, "You have to leave me here, alright? I am as good as gone right now. I will never permit you to jeopardize your health for me, understand?"_

 _She gulped. "Yes, Papa."_

 _"Good, but before you go." He then pulled out a beaded bracelet and tied it on with shaky hands. "Know that you will never be alone."_

 _With that, he pushed her away, a second before a fearling swooped in and engulfed him in darkness._

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **I tried, okay? Writer's block is so boring :( See ya next month!**

 **Oh yeah, the list thingy even tho there's nothing new *shrugs* (other than that guard, Jabari and Nefra's dad, but eh they aren't that important at the moment)**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**


	11. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I know this is pretty late for my already pretty late monthly updates, but I saw that the original publish date for this fanfic was actually _today_ (Dec 30), so HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO RESTORING BALANCE! Thank you all so much for following me, even if I have the stupidest work schedule! Hey, you all still like my work, and maybe for my New Years resolution I'll try to keep up on this (even though I'm already obsessed with it and my dreams are plagued with chapter ideas) and have a consistent update time!**

 **Now, I have a lot more to say but I'll just answer this guest review then start haha.**

Sweets—n—Treat: Thanks for the A on my research xD and hmm maybe I should put it in the mystery section (if I haven't). As for your questions, one thing is for certain, people have been asking about Jack's head voices. As I've answered KitoH, Jack and Jokül are two separate entities that inhabit one body. It's a very long story as to how that happened, and it'll be explained later on in the series. Also, I was a bit confused about what you meant for your second question, so I'm assuming you're talking about where he went. It takes a ton of energy for Jokül to show up (even more if he completely envelopes Jack), so he was simply resting. He'll be back tho! :D

 **Heads up, I didn't get this run through with any beta (because I wanted to be published today), so this is unbetaed.**

 **One last thing, I PROMISE (it's super important too)! There will be some MINOR SEXUAL TORTURE IN THIS, LIKE REALLY MINOR, BUT I WANT TO WARN YOU ALL. **

**I will be sectioning off that part, so go ahead and read on.**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Hel's Catacombs)

Once the door slammed shut, Jack sighed, "I hope Neffie's going to be fine."

"From my experience in this hellhole, no." Ciara pursed her lips in a thin line.

Jack deadpanned at the goddess. "I know, you're not the only one who spent a while here."

"Well, I've stayed here far longer than you ever had."

"Really?" the winter spirit challenged, "I've stayed here for thirty years."

Ciara rose an eyebrow in mock astonishment. "Interesting, but I've been here for over two hundred years."

Pitch, who had been muting out the two rivals, suddenly turned around, his shackles silent as ever. "Excuse me, what?"

"Well, what'd you think? It's not like Hel would try to discard her 'useful' sister," Ciara snapped.

"Yeah, but still. How'd she keep you here so long?" Jack questioned, "You could literally kick her butt if you wanted to!"

"Blackmail, duh?" The goddess crossed her arms. "Now, let's just talk about something else."

Jack merely smirked. "Ooh, I got under your skin! How'd you get blackmailed by Death of all people?"

"How'd you get blackmailed by Khione then?" Ciara shot back.

Pitch then looked at Jack. "You were once—"

"Yes!" Jack interjected, "Wait, how'd you find out about that?"

"Through Neffie, of course," Ciara teased, "Anyway, you're so curious about me, why can't I be curious about you?"

"You know, there's a difference between you getting blackmailed to stay here and my example."

"I don't see it," Ciara said, "I mean, they are both bitches after all. Plus, we were both imprisoned by them. Me with being bound to this hellhole and you being bound by a marr—"

"Let's not go there," Jack growled, his small smile immediately falling, "I get the point."

"I don't see why you're so triggered Frosty, it's just a—" Ciara stopped when she saw Jack's scowl.

Jack blinked in shock, but once realizing why Ciara paused, his smirk returned, and he joked, "Cat's got your tongue, Cici?"

"What'd you just call me?"

Before the two could start an argument again, the door was banged open by the same guard, except this time Khione was with him.

 _Oh no._ Jack's stomach suddenly flip flopped when he saw the goddess. _I think I can taste breakfast, but I didn't eat anything._

"Stupid guard," Khione grumbled, her slight pout fading into a cheerful smile when her eyes landed on Jack. Thus instead of going down the stairwell, she was swept up by her wind and gracefully landed down below.

"Jackie!" Khione cooed, "Missed me?"

Jack slowly backed up against the wall as Khione stepped closer to him, only to be stopped when Khione suddenly grabbed ahold of the chain between his wrists. He internally screamed when the goddess yanked on the metal, jerking him towards her.

Hands on the soot covered ground, Jack tilted his head up and replied, "You wish, Snær Bikkja."

Khione chuckled, squatting low enough to be eye level with Jack. "Oh my prince, we both know that vulgar nickname has no effect on me."

"Slut."

Everyone in the room stared at Jack, a mixture of emotions on each of their faces as they processed what he said. Ciara was plain amused, Pitch was surprised, and the tightened grip on Jack's chain was enough of a clue to tell that Khione was livid.

Ciara was the first to snap the tangible silence with a snort. "Ooh Frosty, never knew you could ever say that!"

 _In fact, it wasn't me who said tha—_ Jack interrupted his thought with an internal shout, ' _JOKUL!'_

' _ **Yes, Ungr Vetr?'**_ Jokül responded.

' _It was you, wasn't it?'_

' _ **Perhaps so; however, you know she deserved it.'**_

Jack instantly ignored the other's ranting when Khione suddenly stood up, lifting him above the air, a steely hold on the iron link in her hand. The goddess drew him close, to the point where the blue fabric of her robe slightly tickled against his bare chest, her other slender hand holding his chin hard enough to bruise.

Khione moved her lips to his right ear, her viciously cold breath brushing against the shell of his ear as she whispered, "You shall regret ever saying that, my prince, for you are no match to me here in this dungeon. Understand?"

Even though he was supposed to be the Winter Sovereign, her king and ruler, it took an effort for Jack to hide the slight quiver in his voice as he choked out, "What if I said that it was Jokül?"

His response instantaneously melted away the tension in the room.

Khione barked out a laugh and drew Jack away from her, still keeping him above the ground. "Of course he would dare speak to me as such, I should have known. I apologize deeply, Jackie. May you ever forgive me?"

"Sure?" Jack stared at Khione in confusion. _Wasn't she about to kill me a second ago?_

"Very well." Khione gently set Jack on the ground and detached him from the wall.

Because of Jack's bewildered expression when his ankle restraints were unlocked, Khione continued, "Now Jackie, do not presume I came here to simply flirt. I have a task with you."

"I honestly was hoping that you just came here," Jack remarked, "but I guess I shouldn't have expected that."

Khione merely lifted herself and Jack off the ground with the assistance of her wind, carrying them off to Gods know where.

* * *

"You know, taking off the blindfold would be really helpful right now."

"Of course," was Khione clipped response before a faint light washed over his eyes.

Once again he was bound onto some table, this time in a laid out position with his arms and legs spread out. Not only that, there was an array of spears, swords, daggers, and other sharp weapons covering up the wall beside him, some coated with dried blood, others shining in the torchlight. When he looked at his feet, there were some metal contraptions that reminded Jack of fairy wands, each wand having a star at the top that glowed their own color: lava red, ice blue, electric yellow and chalk white.

Khione moved from her chair at his side to snatch the electric yellow wand, pressing a button at the bottom to cause it to buzz with electricity. Maniacally, the woman edged closer to Jack, wand clasped in her right hand.

Jack did not like where this was going.

"Now as you very well know," Khione began, drawing Jack's attention off the device, "Hel is curious about your human past."

Jack deadpanned, locking his eyes with the goddess. "No kidding."

Khione ignored him as she continued her monologue, "As such, she has trusted me into breaking you down enough to spill the information she desires."

"So, you're going to use pixie wands to make me talk?" Jack rose an eyebrow.

"Not just any pixie wands—wait."

Jack snickered as Khione fumbled with her words, even after she smacked him across the face leaving a stinging handprint on his cheek.

"Stop your foolish laughter at once. These devices are designed to ensure pain from four different elements: fire, ice, electricity and air," Khione huffed.

"Basically what Nefra can already—ow!"

Jack yelped when the wand was brutally slapped onto his chest, his muscles contracting together. The goddess glared at her captive, teeth clenched together.

"Yes, Hel absorbed the power of the Harmony Spirits she killed into each wand," Khione seethed, hitting Jack's shoulder hard enough to singe his skin, "I am already annoyed at your petty squabbling. Do not bring forth my anger any further."

Even though the warning sent off bells in his head, he still replied, "Really? What would you do if I did?"

A beat later, Khione zapped his crotch.

It felt as if a million shards of glass suddenly sunk into his organs, shredding them apart as if they were nothing but melted butter. He screamed when the shards burrowed deeper into his body, splitting himself in half. Sharp explosions ignited within his genitals, setting ablaze the entire lower region of his body.

He just wanted the pain to end, end, _**end**_! What had he ever done to deserve such anguish?

Just when his eyes were about to roll, the current stopped as abruptly as it began.

His whole body ached, from his lungs taking in as much oxygen as possible to his curled toes. How was he going to be able to survive the interrogation if it hadn't even begun yet?

Khione smirked when Jack spasmed from the aftermath. "Like I said, do not play cocky with me."

"Got that." Jack rasped out, eyes now glued to the wand.

"Now, I have merely one question to answer and that is all," Khione spun the device in her hands as she talked, "What are the names of your parents?"

' _ **Do not even dare tell her, Ungr Vetr!'**_ Jokül's voice suddenly boomed in his head.

"What?"

After a zap on his thigh that added more to the accumulated pain, Jack gritted his teeth. "It was just a question!"

"You do not answer a question with another!" Khione yelled.

Jack shouted back, "You do if you don't understand the point of the question! Heck, how am I supposed to even know that?"

Khione crossed her arms. "Everyone knows their parents' names. I knew my father's for millennia."

"That's because Boreas uses his name in the court! You'd be insane if you didn't know his name," Jack responded, then muttered, "If you're not already."

His teeth clamped together as his chin was suddenly jerked upwards by a chilled hand, forcing him to peer at the dark scowl set on her face. "By the Gods, when will you ever learn to not annoy the one who has the upper hand?"

"When it isn't fun to annoy people?"

' _ **I would be quiet if I were you,"**_ Jokül piped up in his head.

Jack nearly rolled his eyes. ' _Kinda too late for that.'_

Instead of an electric shock, Jack felt teeth sinking into the flesh of his neck, causing him to frown at the goddess when she sat up once again. "What was that?!"

"It seemed you were not understanding the point of the shocks," Khione stated, "Thus, I tried a different approach."

"By biting me?!" Jack indignantly shouted.

"Yes, and did it not work?" Khione commented, "However, that was not the point of why you are here."

"Yeah, I kinda know that. Though, I'm not spilling anything just yet," Jack added, jangling his bound wrists, "so it'd be best to just let me go."

"Are you sure about that?" Specks of frost from Khione's hand spread across Jack's browline as she traced them. "I could still waterboard you to talk. I heard it was very effective for Hel."

She cackled when the boy gulped nervously. "Oh don't be scared of that, Jackie. I could never imagine doing something as harsh as that."

' _ **But that doesn't mean she won't do anything worse, Ungr Vetr.'**_

' _I get it, Jokül.'_

"Alright then, what will you do?" Jack asked, gaze slipping on the other wands at his feet.

Khione smiled as she replaced the yellow starred device with the red starred one. "This."

A fiery sensation traveled through his veins, originating from the soles of his feet. It was as if lava was being poured all over them, heat sinking into his bones.

"YOW! Okay, I get it!"

She stopped digging the wand in his feet. "Will you say your parents' names then?"

"I don't even know their names!" Jack replied, exasperated, "I can't really give a name unless you want me to make up one."

Khione abruptly moved the wand to his groin, tip barely touching the sensitive area. "I don't believe you at all, my prince. I shall give you one last chance or else enjoy this."

The radiating heat causing his stomach to flip, and he blinked his eyes harshly, tears falling from his eyes. "Like I said, I have no clue what to say."

Nothing could have prepared him for the blistering agony when Khione grounded the hot metal against his crotch.

He screamed as pain shot from his genitals once again, this time it being an engulfing flame set to burn his entire body from the inside. No, it was the core of the fire, the blue, that swallowed him. It worsened as Khione tried different angles, and he tried to squirm to get away from the penetrating heat, only in vain when Khione managed to dig deeper.

' _Jokül, stop the pain!'_ Jack screamed desperately, ' _Please, help!'_

The other, in return, sighed. ' _ **I'm so sorry, Ungr Vetr. Nightlight and I are trying something, but we cannot do anything as long as you're bound.'**_

' _What can I do then? You told me to keep my parents' identities a secret, but it couldn't be that bad for this!'_ Tears welled up in his eyes, even after the burning metal was removed.

' _ **If they find out, you shall be in a worser predicament than now.'**_

Khione looked down at him in pity, and maybe even sadness, as she held up the wand. "I did not wish to inflict so much harm upon your body, Jack. However if you remain so stubborn, I have no choice."

' _ **Do not DARE say anything, Ungr Vetr, or you shall regret it! Please, do it for both of us,'**_ Jokül whispered before his influence faded away, not being able to keep the connection up with the little strength he had.

 _It's just me then._ "I won't be saying anything anytime soon, Khione," Jack responded coldly before groaning, "Though, mind going at least a bit gentle on that region?"

Anger flashed in the goddess's eyes. "I shall not do any of your requests if that means you will still keep quiet."

 _Worth a try,_ Jack thought, _Hmm, I wonder if Jokül would yell at me for saying that._

 **(Okay, this is where things get sexual a bit, not much, but yeah. I'll tell when it's done too!)**

However, it seemed that Khione did have enough sympathy to grab the blue starred one. If Jack could guess from the color, it was the ice wand.

He accidentally let loose a sigh as the cool metal numbed away the agony left by the heat, but winced once the cold started biting into his flesh.

Khione, frowning at the lack of reaction from Jack, moved the device to his chest, swirling the tip of the star against his nipple. She grinned when Jack failed holding back a whine and continued her ministrations much harder.

He squinted his eyes, tears slipping away as he was overwhelmed with a bout of pain with a bit of pleasure mixed in. The worst part was Jack had no idea why, of everything, there was that hint of pleasure pounding at him while Khione tortured him. Thus, Jack did the only thing he could think of doing.

He sobbed.

He sobbed as Khione sped up her movements and began to nip his other nipple. He sobbed as she gently wiped away his tears and taunted him with betraying Jokül. He sobbed as the pleasure increased and he was helpless to stop it.

Soon his body started quivering like a taut bowstring, the knot growing in his stomach causing him to start heaving.

"Please just stop, Khione," Jack begged, voice wispy as he silently retched, "P-please."

"I am heavenly sorry Jackie," Khione replied, "I can only stop once I get the information I desire."

Jack then opened his eyes, locking his despairing blue with her lustful black. "I don't know much about their names, Khione, I really don't."

"It's not that you do not know," Khione whispered as she brushed the tip of the cold star against his collarbone, "Your stubbornness is the only cause as to why you do not answer."

"Touché, I'll give you props for that." He nearly moaned when the wand hit a cluster of nerves on his neck, Khione lewdly grinning at the catch of his breath and continued teasing the area.

Jack didn't dare to open his mouth until she paused for a second, then he rushed out, "But still, I only heard them say it in passing!"

In victory, Khione put her face against her crossed arms on the table, face close enough to Jack's for him to smell her minty breath. "In passing is good enough for us. Now be a good little Sovereign and tell me what their names are, and I shall let you go back to the cell."

 _Ugh I'm so sorry for this Jokül, even if I don't know why you're so eager to keep it a secret._ Jack glanced at Khione's waiting face before looking down again. _Though, maybe I could use their other name._

"Iah and Selene," Jack answered, "Their names were Iah and Selene."

"Alright then," Khione said, placing the wand down with the others. Jack sighed in relief, but soon his eyes widened when he saw Khione picking up the white starred wand. "I had some amazing plans with this, too bad I cannot accomplish them. Although, I never declared when _exactly_ you'd return."

"W-wait Khione, please d-don't do—"

Jack couldn't finish his statement before the white star was on his chest, his breath escaping him. As he gasped for air like a fish, Khione leered at him, her eyes shining with enough lust to put Aphrodite to shame.

"I have always wondered how a breathless kiss would come from you, Jackie. Perhaps, now is my opportunity to see."

With that, she dived into his gaping mouth, one hand holding the wand against his chest, the other running through the individual strands of his tangled hair.

He writhed against her, but the way she straddled his hips caused his frantic movements to deepen the kiss. He tried to free himself from her grasp, but the gentle yet steely grip she had on the nape of his scalp locked him in place. He held in all his tears, but the overwhelming sense of forced pleasure made him release them.

In his anguish, the piece of metal slithered from the center of his chest up to his neck, rhythmically tapping on that sweet spot once again. Her tongue tangled itself up with his, slowly stroking his stoic tongue as her lips rubbed against his chapped ones. Black dots swam in his darkening vision as pangs of desire shot down his spine like ripples of energy, the knot in his stomach growing even stronger. He couldn't do anything with that fierce hold on his breath she had, except letting loose soft whimpers.

Once she heard him, she shut off the wand. Air suddenly rushed into his body, everything flickering dark as unconsciousness was near him, but not close enough to take him out of there. Her lips were still against his, not even resting to give him oxygen.

Then, she stopped kissing him, a thick line of saliva running between them. He took the opportunity to breathe in more air to fill his lungs. Still, Jack couldn't help but feel worried, especially with the lascivious grin plastered on Khione's face that grew as his discomfort levels rose.

His worry was for a good reason when she slipped back into his mouth for a second time. He heard the soft plink of the wand after she had discarded it, instead using her fingers to massage that same spot on his neck.

Regardless of the kiss, he couldn't keep some of his desperate noises to himself, unintentionally turning her on. As such, her fingers began seeking more of his skin, slowly exploiting parts of him he didn't want touched.

His eyes widened when her finger hooked onto the rim of his pants.

 **(Okay, the sexual torture is over now!)**

However before she could go any further, someone yelled, "What is going on here?!"

Khione instantly untangled herself from him, legs still straddling his hips, as she stammered, "Hel!"

The goddess, in return, glared at her ally. "Get off of the boy."

Khione complied, jumping off him as quickly as she got on and sat in the chair beside him. He couldn't help but pant in relief, even if it was Hel that saved him.

"What the fuck _happened_?!" a voice shouted, "What the shit did you damn do?!"

That was when Jack noticed the others: a shocked Sabrina, a sympathetic Acheron and a fuming Ciara that was bound by chains held by the Halloween spirit.

Ciara's lethal gaze fell on him, and he knew that he was quaking like a leaf, a tirade of never ending tears falling from his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Khione could no longer continue the game she was playing, and he was relieved by that.

Once she looked away from the stomach wrenching sight, Ciara hissed, "You are a fucking whore!"

Before anyone could stop her, Ciara tackled Khione off her chair in fury, Sabrina blocking off Jack's view. By the sounds of crunching cartilage and grunts of pain, he had a fair idea of how gruesome the fight was and jerked in fear.

Noticing the flinch, Sabrina knelt down till she was eye level with him and slowly combed through his hair. Jack tensed, slightly shivering when the emotions he felt through the kiss rebounded back at him.

Wide eyed, Sabrina stopped and kissed his forehead. "I apologize Jack."

He shook his head. He just wanted to be left alone, to not be touched by even his friends. Jack knew that his avoidance to touch was a troubling issue, yet he couldn't bring any strength to care.

After awhile, it seemed that Hel's patience was waning. "Enough with this nonsense!" Hel barked, "What are you waiting for, servant? Break it up!"

Acheron paused for a beat then leapt into action, Jack clenching his eyes shut and turning away.

"Jack, just open your eyes," Sabrina whispered softly, "Jaack."

Jack whined as his head was moved towards the fight; however when he looked at the area, he saw Acheron holding onto a part of Ciara's chains, allowing Khione to stand up and frost the gashes she received. He was relieved to see that Ciara had only some bruises which she shook off.

"I thought we had agreed that Jack would be mine!" Khione growled.

He was shook. _What?_

Hel gave her a deathly stare. "I have; however, you shall do as you please with him _afterwards_."

The winter spirit in question felt his stomach flip, bile soon crawling up his throat as his nausea increased. Due as you please? He didn't even want to think about what Khione had in store for him later on, knowing that he would start vomiting if he did so.

Skip that, he _was_ already spewing out bile, gurgling on it because of his lack of strength to move his head to the side. Nevertheless, Sabrina had other plans and tilted his head towards her, not disgusted by the sheets of bile and water that erupted from his mouth.

This brought Hel's attention, and with a sideways look at him, she told Khione, "Leave."

With a final glare directed to Ciara, Khione stormed out into the hallway, blue robe swishing behind her.

Hel took the link out of Acheron's hands and ordered, "Make sure she goes to her quarters, and bring me Jack Frost's garment."

"Yes, Master!" Acheron replied before following the infuriated Snow goddess.

Hel handed Ciara's chain to Sabrina, Ciara sending a grieving glance at Jack.

The goddess nonchalantly scanned the panting Winter immortal, his heaving ceasing once Khione left. She moved to hold the teen's chin, forcing him to look directly in her red eyes. "Hush now, Jack Frost."

Even though she was the enemy, even though he was her captive, even though it was her fault in the beginning for this mess, he couldn't help but repeat over and over in his soft voice, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

As the other two stared in shock, Hel shushed his mantra with her hand. "Do not thank me just yet, Frost."

She then closed her eyes, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "Why had I ever let her have a go at him without watching her?"

She then turned to her daughter, still having a firm grip on Jack. "Give me your dreamsand."

Sabrina's eyes widened at the request. "H-how did you—"

"Give me the dreamsand!" Hel snarled, "Now."

The Halloween spirit complied, slowly pulling out the item from her satchel and handing it to her.

Hel opened the small cloth bag and dipped three fingers inside, catching bits of the sparkling, golden sand. Pulling the drawstring, Hel tossed the bag back to Sabrina, who caught it instantly and shoved it away.

Jack tried to edge his face away from her fingers; however, her hold on his chin restrained him from moving. He twitched when her fingers brushed against his brow line, lightly kneading his scrunched skin. Immediately, a wave of drowsiness washed his body, relaxing as the death deity continued.

His vision darkened as he allowed sleep to take him away from the world.

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **That's it for this chapter (and go ahead and kill me now for what I wrote)! Now, I was going to say was that I actually managed to get the FULL series of Guardians of Childhood at the library and I AM SO THRILLED! My friends have seen that excitement already too haha.**

 **Not only that, but 2k views already in ONE YEAR?! I'm so excited that I reached 2k!**

 **I dunno what else to say tbh other than to review and stuff. So yeah, reviews are welcome :D And I didn't forget the OC list haha (no updates so yeah).**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha**

 **Ashun**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**


	12. Chapter 10

**Reading through my ANs, I've noticed I use "haha" a lot. Heck, the last chapter was full of it! Anyway, once again I suck at updates because of how unkept I am xD. I do hope you guys actually are fine with it ~ I know I'm losing guest readers, I'm sorry to you all. I really am trying, but just life issues are causing a conundrum of emotions to plague my mind. That and I had no clue what to do for Ciara's torture scene. Anyway, just know I'm open to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism (and I love it too!)**

 **Also, thanks to Goddess of Technology, this chapter is 5 times better than before. Sorry you had to deal with my horrible chapterchapter xD**

 **Also guest review response!**

ImAGuest: I'm pleased that you've enjoyed what I have so far! As for that idea, I have this whole fanfic already planned out, but I hope you enjoy what I have in store later!

YellowMiki98: *stares at my Google Doc filled with Restoring Balance notes and outlines* I think that there is more to come.

* * *

(Hel's Catacombs)

Ciara was just plain bored as she hung in between two pillars, hands chained above her head. She thought that she'd be in the room Jack was in earlier, but it seemed she was wrong.

 _Good thing too._ The woman thought as she growled. _That bitch had to get at him like the slut she is. If only I could've done worse._

Just as Ciara was starting to think that the boredom would kill her, the door opened, casting a stream of light that glowed in the dark room.

However, the devil who opened said door didn't deserve that light.

The man's spiked, black hair was slicked back, hair oil glistening as his ocean blue eyes stared into Ciara's similarly-hued ones.

She knew he was in the Catacombs—hell, she'd warned Nefra about him—but seeing him made her want to drink acid.

"Hello, Father," Ciara greeted, her tone clipped.

The man stepped in and flicked on the torches along the walls of the room with a snap of his fingers as his red lips slowly forming into a smile.

"Hello to you as well, Colby."

Ciara glared at him. "I'm not Colby anymore just like you're not Loki. I'm Ciara, nothing else."

"Oh, but you can't just forget you own gender," Loki jested, "I merely took an alias as the Dark Lord."

"And I don't give a shit about it. Now, why the fuck am I here?" Ciara spat out, growing more annoyed as Loki stalled.

"Why? Can I not simply greet my son, or should I say, daughter?" With an incredulous look from Ciara, he continued, "I suppose you want to get straight to business, then."

Walking behind her, Loki took one of the weapons along the wall, the clink of metal hitting metal being the only indication that something was unhooked. When Ciara craned her neck only to see a shadow whip in his hands, her stomach dropped.

That whip was hers.

Surprise flashed across her face before she quickly masked it with fake nonchalance. "Wow, so you're going to whip me like as if I'm a fucking naughty girl? How creative, Father."

"I know you recognize this as yours, which is why it shall hurt even more," Loki purred as he somehow managed to dissolve her lacy blouse into nothingness, revealing her scarred back.

Ciara winced when she heard the smack of flesh, pain flaring up from the gash on her back. Still she refused to scream, even after the second, third, fourth and fifth lash.

Loki huffed when he went back to the front and saw her calm glare. Roughly, he grabbed Ciara's chin with one hand, his other snapping the ichor-coated whip across her face.

A tear leaked out of her right eye as the whip scratched her cornea, but the wound was not deep enough to impair her vision.

Peering at Loki, Ciara's glower turned into a smirk. "What Father, can't wound me?"

"Just you wait, my dear." That was her last warning before pain shot up from behind her back in a torrent of fire.

Ciara's yelp morphed into a scream as the flames creeping up her back began to lick her wounds, poorly cauterizing them. Loki, guffawing in enjoyment, added in more lashes to her front side.

Cuts began littering her front as she squirmed within her restraints to avoid the whip connecting with her flesh. Apparently, Loki figured how to activate the small barbs, so now the little pieces of metal were digging inside her skin.

Pausing, the man snapped the whip in front of Ciara's face, tip barely reaching her nose as the whip splattered golden ichor all over her face.

Panting in agony, Ciara looked at her father with clouded eyes. "What the hell is your purpose for doing this, anyway?"

"For you to feel the pain I felt from your betrayal," Loki answered, tilting up her slackened head with two fingers.

"What betrayal?" Ciara jested.

Loki scowled at her. "After all I've done, you decided to stick with that fiendish boy instead of your own father. What am I to do in a situation such as this except feel betrayed?!"

Ciara went quiet after that, pursing her lips together. Loki, annoyed by the silence, sighed.

"I believe you have had enough, and you should return to your cell."

With that, the father unlocked Ciara's bindings with a click.

* * *

Ciara tapped the wall in boredom as her body ached from the lashes. She occasionally glanced at the sleeping form of Jack, two iron bracelets being the only thing restricting his powers. The dreamsand floating above his head lit the room with a yellow glow, creating a calm atmosphere.

Then, there was Nefra.

Ciara stared at the girl in concern as she thrashed within her tight constraints, face screwed up in fear. Occasionally, whimpers would leak through her mouth, making Ciara even more anxious.

"Well, that appeared to have been quick," Pitch remarked, breaking the silence between the two.

Ciara hummed in agreement. "Yeah, guess so."

The two went back to being quiet, both observing the younger ones in the room.

"Why do they have to go through so much, out of all of us?" Ciara whispered, eyes trained on her friends.

Pitch sighed, looking at the goddess in sympathy. "I do not know. At least Frost is now having a break from this hellish land."

The comment somehow made Ciara snap. "Do you damn know why Hel gave Jack the dreamsand?!" Ciara shouted, edging closer to Pitch as the man slid back towards the wall. "He was fucking molested by Khione! Jack was a shitty, shivering mess when we all got there! And to make it all the more fucking worse, he was blackmailed into marrying her in the late 1920s too! Who the fuck knows what that slut did to him?!"

Ciara stopped yelling once she saw Jack twitch in his sleep, hand rubbing her temples. "I don't even like the fucking, frosty ass."

Pitch, still thinking about what was said earlier, blinked in surprise, face morphed in concern. "How had this marriage occurred?"

"I don't have a fucking clue. Nefra just told me about it." Ciara crossed her arms, pursing her lips. "Just like The War of 1934 and other things."

"Hmm, do you suspect the Guardians know about this?"

Ciara barked out a laugh. "Hell no, they don't even know he's the Sovereign of Winter, much less anything about Court politics."

Just then, the room darkened as the sand around Jack's head turned black in the flash of a second.

Ciara growled at the sight, glaring at the Bogeyman. "What the fuck?"

"I am just as clueless as you are, dear," Pitch retorted calmly, frown deepening even more, "I cannot harm nor help under these chains."

Ciara had other plans as she moved herself right next to Jack. Scowling, the goddess tried to brush away the sand in order to wake up Jack, only to be pulled back by Pitch.

"What are you doing?" Pitch scolded.

Ciara shrugged, going back to Jack's side. "Waking him up?"

"Do not touch the sand or else you will be—" Pitch tried to warn her, but Ciara grabbed at the sand and fell asleep, "—sucked into the nightmare."

* * *

(Nightmare)

Standing in the middle of a hall purely made of twinkling ice, Ciara drunk in the sight of all the glamour the ice palace had to offer.

Thick sheets of transparent ice acted as walls, stunning portraits of winter adorning them. The translucent floors, surprisingly not slippery, glistened as daylight shone on them. The towering ice sculptures, ranging from carvings of dancing women in elegant dresses to abstract swirls, were lit up in a multitude of hypnotic colors.

Ciara knew this place was the Winter Palace.

As the goddess walked along, she soon heard arguing voices from across the hall. Following the sound, she stumbled across a thick door and opened it carelessly.

Inside the bedroom were none other than Jack and Khione, Jack pacing in his navy blue robes as Khione sat on the edge of a large mattress, slight weight not even creating a ruffle in the red comforter.

"Do you agree or not, Jackie? That is all I ask," Khione asked, creamy arms crossed together over her strapless, winter blue dress.

Jack closed his cerulean eyes, sighing as a tear streaked down his face. "Does it look like I have a choice, Khione? You're literally forcing me into this."

"I am not, my Sovereign. I am just giving you an incentive," Khione calmly rejected, black eyes studying the boy in front of her.

Jack turned towards her in anger, his robes buffeting around him in a swirl of blues. "Excuse me? Since when is blackmailing me with the lives of my last believers an incentive?!"

Khione shrugged nonchalantly. "You are able to keep them dead or alive. Whatever it is you wish."

Jack groaned. "There's no point in this stupid argument. Just show me where they are, please."

"Of course." Khione smiled as she stood up and directed him to her oval, vanity mirror, hand gently trailing along his arm.

As Khione started chanting in Greek, the image in the mirror began to churn in a multitude of colors before revealing a swinging iron cage suspended inside the dark room by a long chain. Inside were the raggedly outlines of a group of shivering children, each one huddled against each other for fear and warmth. The only thing illuminating the room was the bonfire below the cage that was supposedly keeping the room warm enough for them to barely survive.

Each child's scrap-like clothes were covered in grime, along with their bodies. As Jack and Ciara scrutinized the condescending image, they both saw the cuts and bruises on each of their skins, eyes all deep in sorrow.

Jack pressed a shaky hand against the mirror, drops of ice falling on the floor as he fell to his knees. "How—how could you do s-something like this?"

Khione merely snapped the sight away, mirror only showing their reflections. "Jackie, will it be a yes or no?"

Jack just knelt there, hand in a fist as he still thought about them. Khione, sighing, lifted the boy up by his armpits and tossed him onto her bed. Still not responding, Khione went on the bed as well and ran a hand through his silky hair before gently tilting his head up to hers, noses touching.

"Jackie?" Khione whispered, her cold breath lightly brushing against his pale lips.

Jack slowly blinked. Once his eyes connected with hers, he twisted from her grasp and hurriedly sat up. "I told you my answer is a yes, I'll marry you in two weeks. Now please, just leave me alone."

"Oh but, we were so close," Khione purred, tugging the reluctant Jack on top of her, grasping his waist so he couldn't flee.

Jack futilely wiggled in the embrace before being slammed onto the duvet, back against the soft comforter as Khione stayed above him. His hands were pinned above him, Khione's knee holding his hips down.

Jack gasped when her lips robbed his first kiss, bucking even more in protest.

Ciara, frozen from the sight, rushed to the couple. When she made a move to push Khione away, her hands passed through the Snow Goddess's body.

"Right, nightmare," Ciara whispered as she was forced to watch.

Jack wrenched his lips away from hers, panting in fear. "What are you doing?"

"Doing what I have waited centuries to do," Khione responded before she pulled him into another kiss, muffling his sobs.

Just then, a random bolt of ice blasted Khione off of him. Ciara turned around, only to meet Yuki's livid face as she marched up to Khione. However, Jack ran up to her in a tackling hug before she could reach the fallen goddess.

Ciara was awfully shocked at the immortal's appearance. "How'd she get here?"

"It is alright, Ou-sama," Yuki whispered as she soothed the poor teen squeezing her, "I came to track you down once I saw you were not in your room. Fortunately, one of the servants knew of your whereabouts."

Jack simply nodded his head, nuzzling it in her shoulder as he cried.

"Now, I shall be leaving with him," Yuki said to Khione, "and you are not to touch him in that fashion ever again."

With that, Yuki and Jack left, the traumatized teen walking beside her.

* * *

 **Okay, this chapter was a PAIN to write! But yeah, I hope you enjoyed the foreshadowing and stuff! If you didn't see it, well I guess you should look deeper into the nightmares from now on ;D.**

 **This is bye for now. Hopefully, I'll update within 1/2 weeks.**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far**

Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)

Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)

Anemone

Themis

Hel

Holler

Yuki-Onna

Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)

Bedelia Doiteain

Erantha Vrochì

Ashun L'automne

Nefra/Ma'at

Ciara/Adrestia

Sabrina Hallows

Acheron

Morana

Gwenith

Old Man Winter

Beira

Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)

Yas

Gwendolyn

Loki/Dark Lord


	13. Chapter 11

**Hiyo! I'm honestly in shock that I got this done in EXACTLY A MONTH! Don't expect this to happen much tho xD. Anyway, my beta unfortunately couldn't read through this, so it might be a bit rough.**

 **Also, I've noticed how HORRIBLY I formatted the last chapter and I'm sorry for that ~**

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

(Tianzi Mountain, China)

Bunny swore that if that girl didn't come to the waiting room anytime soon, he was going to storm into her room himself.

It's been hours since Sandy and Bunny were directed to the luxurious waiting room of the Summer palace. The perfect amount of time for Bunny to get bored of the granite statues holding up the ceiling, the candle lit chandelier made of gold, and even the indoor fountain flowing at the center of the room in elegant swirls.

However, Bedelia walked in before Bunny could get off the red and gold plush seat he was sitting on next to the fountain.

Once he saw her, he stared at the Sovereign in shock.

Her tangy, red hair was gathered at the left side of her scalp, the right part completely shaved off. Instead of the blouse he saw her in earlier, she had on an unbuttoned leather jacket over her red, noodle strap tank top. Her black leggings were ripped past her knees, revealing her slightly tanned skin. The worst part was that her clothes were nowhere near modest with how prominent her shapely figure was under them.

Her black leather boots clicked against the marble tiled floor as she walked up to the curved sectional sofa holding them, a smug grin on her face after noticing Bunny's incredulous look.

"Everything alright, Rabbit? Or do you need a glass of water to calm your racing heart?"

Bunny blinked, then glared at Bedelia. "I'm doing fine, Sheila. Question is, where's your guards?"

"Oh them?" Bedelia wave a dismissive hand. "Eh, they don't give a shit about me and hate Frost's ass. Calling them would just be pointless."

Sandy merely nodded, then formed a clock above his head with the hands spinning fast.

Bedelia grimaced. "I know you don't have much time, Sandy. I honestly didn't think you'd show up period. If I had, then I would've been here a lot sooner."

"Oh, so ya don't care that I have a job too, myself? Or are ya just heartsick over Sandy?"

"I don't have a crush on him, asshole!" For a Summer Sovereign, Bedelia had a very cold glare. Her scowl morphed into a teasing smile. "Although, you seem to have some feelings about my outfit."

"I don't care about whatcha wear, Sheila," Bunny retorted, "Just surprised, is all."

Bedelia nodded her head, faking agreement. "If you say so."

Bunny rolled his eyes, hopping up from his relaxed position. "Now, we need to head on out to Burgess. I can't believe that we had scraped the plan we made last time, but we gotta find Frostbite."

"Please, as if you'd realize the true gravity of the situation," Bedelia huffed, "We need Frost, Nefra and Ciara back before the Seasonal Transition or else Hel is the least of our concerns."

Bunny stepped closer to Bedelia in anger. "Why'd you take so bloody long then?"

"Well, better I'm here than nothing!" Bedelia shot back.

Anticipating a fight, Sandy held up his hands. "Calm down."

Bedelia looked at him. "Okay Sandy, but I can't just not respond to someone arguing with me."

Sandy rolled his eyes, forming another clock above his head before Bunny could continue.

"Fine, if you insist!" Bedelia huffed.

The Sovereign then outstretched her hand, which was glowing red. Stepping back, Bunny watched as a scythe materialized in her grasp, its silver laced handle shining from the fire on the burning, obsidian blade.

Bedelia merely placed the fiery scythe on her leather clothed shoulder, smirking. "Well Rabbit, let's hop to it!"

* * *

(Burgess, Pennsylvania)

In the Burgess forest, Bedelia slashed through a layer of branches, not even glancing at the smoldering remains. "I don't understand why North sent us three to find Pitch when we're all busy!"

Bunny suddenly paused in his trek, Sandy accidentally bumping against him from behind. "Wait, what'd ya say?"

"What?" Bedelia turned to Bunny, annoyance still covering her face. "It's true that we're all busy. Sandy needs to spread dreams, I need to prepare for the Seasonal Transition in about two weeks, and you have Easter to take care of."

"Did you just admit—?"

Bedelia chimed in, "That you're busy? Yes I did and don't expect me to repeat myself."

Bunny smirked in content before taking Bedelia's place at the front, leading them to Pitch's lair. Well, at least trying to.

"Do you guys know where's the bloke's lair?" Bunny asked once reaching the pond.

Bedelia deadpanned. "How am I supposed to know? He's your enemy, not mine!"

Bunny refrained himself at retorting and looked at his other partner. "Sandy?"

The man made of sand shook his head, shrugging. The three of them then split up, all looking around the pond.

"Are there any clues?" Bunny suggested as he searched through bushes.

Bedelia called back on the other side of the body of water, "Nope!"

Slipping on of of the rocks on the banks, Bedelia fell into the pond, and unfortunately the deep side. A second later, she reemerged with a laughing Bunnymund across from her. "Shut up, Rabbit!"

Bunny merely gave her a crooked smile before going back to scouring through the area.

A few minutes late, Bedelia questioned, "Hey Sandy, does it typically frost around here in mid March?

Sandy, immediately noticing Bedelia beckoning him, nodded his head. "No, why?"

"Well, I see a big trail of frosted grass. Looks sorta like Frost's," Bedelia responded.

Bunny, hearing the two talking, sprinted towards them to see the clue. Sure enough, the ice path was glittering in the mid afternoon sunlight.

"Do we follow it?" Bedelia questioned, looking at Bunny.

The Pooka shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Sandy, on the other hand, shook his head, grabbing the attention of his camaderies. "What if it's a trap?"

"So beat it." Her free hand was at her hip as her golden brown eyes flickered to the melting ice. "We need to find Frost and fast before the Seasonal Transition starts. The longer he's in that hellhole, the more damaged he'll be."

Bunny pursed his lips. "Do you know what happened in there, Sheila?"

The Sovereign sent a pointed glance at Sandy before sighing. "I didn't know him at the time he was first kidnapped. Honestly, I still don't know much about him. The only people that saw him while he recuperated were the Winter Court, his few friends, Mother Nature and Sandy."

Bunny nodded his head solemnly. "Well then, we should head off."

"Way ahead of you, Rabbit!" Before Bunny could blink, Bedelia shot off on the South Wind, following the ice trail as they went.

Bunny and Sandy stared in confusion, but later tried to tag along with the woman. Once Bedelia paused at a wooden bedframe, Bunny's and Sandy's hearts stopped.

Pitch's lair.

Without warning, Bedelia hopped into the hole that the frame hid, not waiting for her other companions. Fortunately, they both soon followed after, all three landing in the shadowy recesses of the area.

"Wow, this place is dark," Bedelia commented, lighting up her scythe till it and Sandy's natural glow illuminated the area.

Bunny added, "It's Pitch Black's bloody lair. Of course it's dark!"

"Eh." Bedelia flew up to a ledge, the wind accidentally rattling the empty, iron cages hanging from the top.

"You'll make a ratchet if you do that!" Bunny shouted.

"And look at who's being noisy now!" Bedelia jested.

Bunny snarled at the smart alek. "I wouldn't be hollering if you weren't up so high!"

"Shush Rabbit, I'm trying to get a bird's eye view of this place!"

Before Bunny could retort, a young woman's voice echoed throughout the caverns, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

The trespassers all grew silent and gripped their weapons as the voice grew louder.

"Hello? I bring you no harm, so please step forth from hiding!"

Walking in the cavern was a girl no older than nineteen; her curled, orange and black locks tied in a messy ponytail. Adorning her lithe body were a pair of black jeans and a plain, orange shirt covering up to her shoulders. Her pale, bare arms were decorated with scars, each one clearly whittled by a blade, burn or whip.

Once Bunny squinted, he noticed the golden necklace that held a glowing pumpkin charm. It seemed awfully familiar, but Bunny couldn't tell why.

The spirit, as it had to be one, pursed her lips at the intruders as her dark orange eyes flitted to each one of them. They lingered once she saw Bunny, green eyes narrowing slightly as he held the top of his boomerang from its colster.

Her lips stretched into a delighted grin. "I've been anticipating your arrival!"

"Have you now?" Bunny exclaimed, distrust flashing across his eyes as she neared.

The late teen paused in her approach and said, "I'm duly sorry for my lack of an introduction. I am Sabrina Hallows, the Spirit of Halloween."

"As if I bloody care," the Pooka barked as he took out his boomerang, "What is it that you want?"

Sabrina blinked at the weapon, bewilderment sketched across her face.

Her expression infuriated Bunny, but before he could do anything, Bedelia shouted, "Wait!"

"What now?" Bunny grit his teeth impatiently.

"I remember that Sabrina was the one who helped Jack out of here." Bedelia held her hands up in a calming gesture. "Right?"

"Yes, and I've been waiting for you to find one of the portals," Sabrina paused, "Although, I suspected Yuki Onna to have come once again, and not you three."

"Well, I can't just not worry for that little slip of wind. He's one of my mates, and I gotta defend him," Bunny answered.

"Ciara did mention that Jack was now the Guardian of Fun. I congratulate him for that."

Bedelia then leapt off of the ledge she was on, her scythe in her right hand. "How's he now?"

"Not so well, I'm afraid." Sabrina breathed in through her nose. "He still hasn't woken up after he was with Khione three days past."

Worry seeped into Bedelia's eyes. "Did she—"

Sabrina nodded in confirmation, knowing what the Sovereign meant immediately.

"What'd she do?" Bunny listened to them, confused.

"It's not something for me to tell," Sabrina answered, "However, I'm pleased you three found a portal to my mother's domain."

"Mother's domain?" Bunny asked.

Sabrina let out a bitter laugh. "Yes, my mother is Hel. It's why I'm imprisoned here."

"We'll try to get you out of here too." Bedelia announced, "It's the least we can all do for you after how much you've helped us."

"No need for that," Sabrina dejected, "All I want is Jack, Nefra, Ciara and Pitch to be safe from here."

The Pooka couldn't help but blurt out, "Pitch?"

Sabrina gave a sad smile. "Indeed, Pitch is one of Mother's coerced minions. Fortunately, her hold on him had decreased drastically after your battle with him two years prior."

Sandy, ignored like he typically was, had a golden clock above his hand, its hands spinning rapidly.

Bedelia huffed. "I know you're busy, Sandy, but we can't just go without a plan."

Shaking his head, Sandy tried again. "When do we come back?"

Bedelia winced. "I dunno. Sabrina?"

"Tomorrow around the same time will do," Sabrina replied, "I assume you all are in a rush to get them out?"

"Well duh! More so because the Seasonal Transition is coming up and they all need to recuperate before then." Bedelia explained.

Just when Sabrina tried to say something, an angry call shook the area. "Sabrina? Where have you gone?"

Eyes widening in fright, the Halloween spirit quickly dismissed the trio, gently pushing them away. "You must be gone before Mother sees you! Leave now, please!"

With no other warnings, the three of them dashed out of the lair before they could get caught.

-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-o()o-

 **Yeaaaaah, this was honestly a recap chapter in the end. Oh, plus Chapter 12. Yep, go ahead and kill me :P No, I'm not running out of ideas, I planned there to be a break, so I don't overload your brains in angst. Btw, there IS a point to my angst xD just bare with me.**

 **Anyways, remember to comment your feelings on this, and BYE!**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**


	14. Chapter 12

**Guess who's back from hibernation! I actually have Chapter 13 nearly finishes, and as the number suggests, it's an unlucky chapter for Jack :P. I had this chapter finished from the start of April, but I decided to add in another part. A VERY interesting part. Also heads up, my beta won't be able to critique my work till summer vacation, so again the next few chapters won't be betaread.**

 **Now, replies to Guest Reviews!**

Bunnymund: Why, you are so inquisitive, hrmm? There'll be 30 total chapters here, but I'm not sure about the rest of the series. Also, I can't exactly say that MiM will intervene. You'll have to wait and see :P As for the request on Khione making a HoO reference, this fanfic originally had the PJO universe, so references are possible. I dunno if I'll do any tho or remember xD.

 **Edit 8/11/18: When you realize there are contradictions in the story... Meh, I just cut off a minor**

* * *

(Pitch's Lair)

A day later, all the Guardians, the Head Seasonals, Mother Nature, Anemone, Themis, Yuki, Yas, Gwendolyn and Gwenith came back to the Boogeyman's lair. There, Sabrina greeted them and led them to a metal globe covered in twinkling lights, asking them to sit here so that they could escape easily to the nearby exit if they had to.

Sabrina stood patiently, waiting for them to begin.

Tooth was the first to talk. "What exactly does Hel want with Sweet—I mean Jack?"

All eyes fell on Sabrina as she answered, "I do not know the specifics, so to say. I had assumed Mother was trying again to break Jack, or at least have him suffer under her wrath." The Halloween spirit figeted with a gold button on her leather jacket. "However, it seems like that is not the case."

"What'd ya mean?" Bunny stared at the girl in confusion.

"I just want to know if my Sovereign is alright," Yas said, interrupting Bunny, "He is, right?"

Sabrina sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Jack did wake up after a few days; however, he is still barely responsive."

"What's happening to him?" Bunny demanded once again, furry arms crossed together.

Sabrina closed her eyes, taking in a calming breath. "As I told you yesterday, it is a violation of his privacy. I will not further your curiosity by giving answers."

"Giving answers?" Bunny argued, "All I'm doing is worrying about Frostbite. What's bugging him?"

"Like I said, I will not tell you!" Sabrina snapped, walking up to the Pooka, "I understand your anxiety for him, we are all stressed. However, there are matters that should be left alone, and this is one of them."

"Why should we leave it alone?" Bunny stood up, avoiding North's attempt to hold him back down. "Sheila, Frostbite is suffering through something, and all I ask is to know what!"

Sabrina stepped back, tears welling in her orange eyes. "He's been through enough nearly a century before he joined your ranks, and I know of everything, he needs his privacy. He will tell you what he needs to say once he is ready. I wish not to be the catalyst of his grief."

Yuki got up. "I agree with Sabrina, you must wait till Ou-sama is ready to tell you himself. I have gone past his boundaries multiple times, and it only resulted with more issues. He values his privacy."

As Yuki sat back down, Bunny stated, "At this point, keeping secrets will only blow up in Frostbite's face."

"Sometimes there are things that you shouldn't know, Rabbit," Bedelia interjected smoothly, dropping down from her place on top of the globe, "All us Sovereigns have our scars and secrets that we don't enjoy sharing."

Bunny huffed, "Oh really? Like what?"

Ashun replied this time, "Erantha and I were in enough wars to share too many gruesome tales—"

"And there's a reason why I wear long sleeves," Bedelia added, glaring at the Pooka, "Before you say it, I don't self harm."

"How is debating nonsensically assisting with plans?" Themis commented, brushing grime off her pristine, blue dress.

"Umm, isn't that how we get our plans done, Themis?" Anemone stated.

The Titan lightly swatted Anemone. "Not now, Anemone."

Anemone pouted, rubbing her arm. "Ow, jeez sorry."

"Themis is still correct," Mother Nature agreed, "We are simply wasting valuable time by arguing. Do we even have a plan?"

"Actually," Sabrina declared, "I have an outline of a plan of my own I would like to share."

After explaining her idea, all the faces in the room lit up as bright as the twinkling lights on the globe.

Gwendolyn's was the first to drop, a hand twisted within the fabric of her white dress as she sat cross legged on the floor with her brother and Yas. "How will we track each other's movements? What will happen if one of us gets captured?"

"Trackers, sis!" Gwenith shouted excitedly, elbowing his twin, "We'll make trackers!"

"Isn't that around fifteen trackers?" Gwendolyn asked.

Gwenith shook his head. "Don't forget our Sovereign, Ma'at, Adrestia, Pitch and that servant Sabrina wants to save."

"That's twenty!" Gwendolyn exclaimed, flabbergasted, "Twenty in a week?"

"We can do it." Gwenith ruffled Gwendolyn's black hair. "We've done more in less time."

"True. When do we deliver them to you all?"

Sabrina answered, "It would be best to give them on the day. I shall retrieve mine from Yuki and give Acheron the other. Yuki Onna, are you able to visit every day till the date arrives, in case more information arrives?"

"Certainly." Yuki bobbed her head, an ice blue gloved hand tapping her chin. "When would be the best time?"

"At this time, I suppose," Sabrina declared, "Now that we have a plan—"

Before she could finish, a scream tore through the lair, a scream that Sabrina and Yuki have heard before.

"Jack," they both whispered quietly, but loud enough to grab Bunny's attention.

"Wait, that was Frostbite?" Bunny questioned, fearfully glancing back and forth between the Winter immortal and the Halloween spirit, "Sheilas?!"

"I must see what is happening," Sabrina proclaimed, still in a trance from the shriek.

However, before she could go, Bunny placed a paw on Sabrina's shoulder. "Don't, we can't blow our cover."

"Who ever said I will?" Sabrina twisted herself out of his grasp. "Jack is in grave danger, and you would not understand why."

Bunny's emerald eyes flashed in anger, but he held himself. "It's because you refuse to tell us. What's his problem? What's going on? I know it's not our business, but we need the truth if we're gonna help."

"I cannot tell you, I really cannot." Sabrina sighed. "However, know that Khione…desires Jack, even though he does not."

A beat later, Tooth's face lit up with realization. "Are you saying—?"

Another tormented scream echoed throughout the area, but this time it soon got muffled in an instant.

This time Sabrina ran off and called back to the intruders, "Get out, now!"

Bunny tried following her, but Bedelia blocked him with her scythe, its blade acting as a fiery wall. "Don't move a step, Rabbit. We have to go back."

"But, Frostbite is suffering out there! We can't just…" Bunny trailed off once his eyes made contact with Yuki's shining, blue ones. "You knew about her, didn't you?"

Yuki merely closed her eyes, dropping her head in shame.

Bedelia snapped Bunny's attention back to her before he tried anything. "Shut up, Rabbit. We all knew about it for a while, but we're not jumping the fucking sword because we know it'll lead to our destruction."

Bunny stared at Bedelia dejectedly, a hard look that sent shivers down her spine. "Yes, _your_ destruction, not _his_. I can't believe y'all would just leave him like that. What kind of friends are ya?"

"You have no clue what you're talking about Rabbit, why—!"

Bunny interrupted Bedelia, "Look, I don't wanna argue anymore. It gets all of us nowhere scampering around this issue like dingos."

With that, Bunny solemnly bounded towards the exit, Bedelia sprinting after him. The others slowly stood up and trailed behind them.

* * *

(Burgess, Pennsylvania)

In a sea of green, trees started blooming their colorful flowers, decorating the forest. Squirrels scampered around, catching the few acorns that fell.

Through the tranquil atmosphere, Jamie and his friends, all clad in jackets, searched for a certain Winter immortal they all loved.

"Hey, Jamie?" Monty questioned, brushing off some petals from his green jacket.

Jamie, leading the whole hunt, turned around. "Yeah?"

"I thought our parents don't let us go to the forest."

Before Sophie could toddle away in her too big hat, pink jacket and binoculars, Jamie grabbed her arm. "So? My mom's gone for a business trip, yours is gone due to family troubles, and your dad's at work. They don't have to know we're here."

Caleb stole Monty's response, "Ehhh, there's still Monty's twin siblings he has to worry about."

Claude argued, "But, Leora and Kyle are awesome!"

"Not if you live with them," Monty countered.

Behind the boys, Pippa and Cupcake were waiting to move. "Are we at the pond yet?"

Jamie looked back at them. "Sorry girls, no. Just an argument."

Cupcake huffed, hugging her dark pink jacket closer to her slightly chubby body. "Hurry up then! We're cold!"

Pippa nodded her head, pulling her white beanie over her reddish brown hair. "Yeah, it's kinda chilly."

"Girls," Caleb and Claude said in sync.

"Oh, shut up!" Pippa yelled, "We need to move on if we're going to find Jack anytime soon!"

With that, Jamie and the others marched onwards till they reached their destination. Before they could continue on, Jamie halted them all, gripping on his sister so that she didn't run off.

"Shhh," Jamie whispered, index finger on his lips, "look over there."

Silently, the five of them, excluding Jamie and Sophie, shuffled around to see what Jamie was talking about.

Gathered around the pond clearing were a group of spirits. They all recognized Santa Claus, Tooth and Sandy, but the others with them were ones that they didn't know.

At least, ones they didn't know the names of.

"Hey Monty, doesn't that look like your mom?" Jamie commented, pointing at the blonde one wearing a modest, blue dress.

Pippa added, "The one with the green dress and black, wispy hair sounds kinda like Mrs. Bennett!"

"Hey, that's Yuki Onna!" Jamie's observation for the Japanese woman in a white kimono was met with blank stares from the other kids his age. "What?"

"Who the heck is Yuki Onna?" Caleb asked.

"Oh yeah, you weren't there!" Jamie facepalmed. "Jack introduced us to Yuki a year ago, along with him saying he's the Ruler of Winter or something like that."

"Sovereign of Winter!" Sophie eloquently chirped in, "It's a funny word!"

"Erm, yeah that."

"Hey, do you guys recognize the other four?" Cupcake pointed out to a pair of black haired twins, a Native American spirit wearing just a normal pair of slacks and a blue tee, and a woman in a yellow dress with long, white hair.

Pippa shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"I still don't get it though," Jamie said, facing towards the girls, "What are they doing here?"

"I dunno," Claude shrugged his shoulders as he removed some spiky leaves from his red shirt.

Monty looked at the black haired boy with worry. "I think those are poison ivy* leaves, Claude."

"What?!" The tween panicked, hurriedly swatting it off himself without touching it. "Shoot, I'm going to be itchy for days!"

"Great job doofus, now they're looking at us," Claude scolded, making everyone else look towards the clearing.

Sure enough, all of the otherworldly beings stopped conversing with each other and were staring at the bush they were hiding in.

North unsheathed a sword strapped to his waist, holding it towards them. "Who is there?"

As all the kids discussed what to do, Sophie hopped out of the bush, her trousers covered in leaves. "Hi Santa!"

Before she could run up and hug the burly man, Jamie quickly got out and grabbed onto the back of Sophie's jacket.

"Um, hi Santa, Tooth Fairy and Sandman!" Jamie greeted, a sheepish smile on his face.

Soon, the rest of Jamie's scavenging crew popped their heads out and introduced themselves. The spirits, in return, dropped their stances and welcomed the kids.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jamie questioned once they all managed to calm down.

North ran a hand through his long, white beard. "Well, we are looking for Jack."

"Same here!" Pippa exclaimed.

"He told Jamie he'd come today." Cupcake crossed her beefy arms over her large torso. "It's 4 pm and he's still not here."

"Yeah, it's not really like the Sovereign to leave off on his promises." Yas commented solemnly, face slowly growing into a smirk when he realized something. "Well, we are able to make it snow."

"Seriously?!" Jamie fistpumped. "Can you do it please?"

Gwendolyn and Gwenith laughed, stepping up to the group of kids. Gwendolyn answered, "Sure, why not?"

"I can list a few reasons," Yuki interjected, looking at the spirits blankly, "Also, snowfall was supposed to end here a week prior. Ou-sama just does not follow his own rules."

"Since when did he?" Gwenith joked, "Come on, please?"

Yuki huffed when he saw the ten of them staring at her, all their eyes silently begging for snow. "Alright, but keep it within here."

With that, the three winter spirits unleashed a torrent of snow around the clearing, stopping once it was as white as a trillion cotton balls. The wintry land earned a multitude of excited shouts from the kids.

"Ya! Snow!" Sophie tossed up the powdery substance then squealed, running towards the woods, "Easter Bunny!"

Jamie tried chasing her, but he stopped when he saw Sophie tackling the furry Pooka, sending a fiery, red-headed woman behind Bunny down to the snow covered floor. Her scythe looked far less scary without the fire licking the silver blade, but the sharp edges still made it horrific.

Even though he didn't know the stranger, Jamie held out a hand to help her up. "Oops, sorry for my sister!"

"No problem, kiddo." Bedelia hauled herself up, kicking up her scythe. "Hey, don't you look familiar?"

"I do?" Jamie blinked, confusion etched across his face.

"Yeah, you look kinda like Frost." Bedelia twirled her scythe around before placing it against her shoulder, Jamie leaning back to not get hit.

"Bedelia Doiteain!" Mother Nature shouted, green dress swooshing as she hurried towards them. "What have I told you about not playing with your weapon? Are you hurt, Jamie?"

"Neh, I'm okay!" Jamie reassured, gently brushing off the hands cradling his face. "Really!"

"Are you positive? Don't make me remind you of—" Mother Nature caught herself, "Nevermind."

"Remind me of what?" Jamie questioned.

"I said nothing Jamie." The tween couldn't help but notice the slight edge to her voice. "Just leave it alone."

"Mother?" Erantha inquired when she glanced towards them while conversing with Ashun, worried once she saw her queen was slightly pale, "Are you alright?"

"I am well dear, nothing to fret." Mother Nature smiled, clasping her hands behind her back. "Simply perturbed about Jack."

Ashun frowned, lips pursing as he scanned her over. "Well Mother, maybe you should sit and rest?"

"No need." Mother Nature waved off their concern, walking back towards Anemone and Themis.

Anemone rose an eyebrow, but the look only lasted a second as she immediately begun pulling out some leaves stuck in her dress.

"Watch out for poison ivy!" Claude warned.

Cupcake rolled her eyes, playfully shoving the black haired boy. "Yeah, yeah."

"Don't worry about it, Claude." Anemone beamed. "Stuff like that doesn't affect us as much."

"What about cyanide?" Monty asked, everyone nearly forgetting about the tween.

Jamie noted the slightly proud look on Themis's face as she answered, "A strong enough dosage might affect us, but it has to be twice as much as a regular adult."

"Oooh!" Jamie awed.

Pippa suddenly whistled, catching everyone's attention. "What about Jack?"

"What about him?" Bedelia shot back.

Pippa huffed at the spirit, tugging down her nearly loose beanie. "Shouldn't we find him or something?"

"We already have, kiddo," Bedelia nonchalantly supplied, "Just go down the Boogeyman's hole and boom, he's there."

"Really?" Jamie gaped, dropping the snowball he was forming. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I just got here?" Bedelia groaned when she was hit with a snowball. "Okay, who just threw that?"

Caleb and Claude pointed towards a grinning Yas, who was juggling a snowball before throwing it again at the Sovereign. His smirk fell once he saw Bedelia fuming.

"Oh it's on, pipsqueak!" Bedelia dashed towards him, grabbing a fistful of snow and throwing it at the winter spirit.

Sandy soon joined their game, rooting against Yas as he threw his own projectile at the boy. Along with him, Gwenith and his twin formed their own team, laughing along as they chased Yas.

Instead of going with them, Jamie simply watched as Sophie tried to drag him off, sad about Jack not being there.

"Why is Jamie sad?" Sophie questioned.

Jamie shook his head. "It's nothing, Soph, I just miss Jack."

Sophie, realizing her brother probably wasn't in the mood for snow, decided to team up with a reluctant Bunny. Jamie sulked beside a tree, aware of Monty settling down beside him.

"Not going to go?" Monty asked, frowning in concern for the kid who always joined snowball fights.

Jamie shrugged. "Nah."

He looked back and saw Anemone landing beside Yas as she launched a blob of snow towards the Sandman. He gave a weak chuckle when he heard Themis ranting about how Anemone was a leader, the Goddess of Winds or something like that.

Monty followed his gaze when North and Tooth partnered up with Pippa and Cupcake, the four branching off into groups of two once North hit Pippa.

After a moment of silence, Monty choked out, "I know it's kinda not in my business to say, but what's wrong? We're like, best friends, and I know that you would die for a snowball fight."

"It's just that, I dunno where Jack is or if he's okay," Jamie admitted, "The snowball fight kinda just made me think about that."

"Hmm," Monty, not knowing what to do, changed the subject, "Hey, are you a bit suspicious about Themis and Mother Nature?"

"Sorta, why?" Jamie turned and faced his friend.

Monty pursed his lips. "Well, I overheard Themis talking about Kyle and Leora to Mother Nature. Something about them growing up?"

"What'd Mother Nature say?" Jamie's curiosity masking over his grief.

"That she knew Sophie and you wouldn't."

Jamie stared at Monty, brown hair slightly rustled by a breeze. "What?"

"I dunno." Monty looked back at Jamie throughout his glasses, blue eyes twinkling. "Again, maybe our suspicions earlier weren't for nothing."

"So, you mean—"

"That they're our moms?" Monty finished, "Yep."

Jamie stayed silent, glancing back at the snowball fight and meeting Mother Nature's green eyes.

* * *

 **Please tell me this was an interesting filler! And before you say it, yes Jamie is slightly OOC. If you're best friend is missing, what would you do? Anyway, I honestly have nothing else but to say to review :D**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**


	15. Chapter 13

**Heyo! Guess who FINALLY managed to update within two weeks! Yep, this author right here. Although, don't congratulate me yet. I've written most of this before finishing Chapter 12, so I basically procrastinated till today. Although, summer vacation is finally arriving and I'll hopefully update and write a WHOLE TON more!**

 **Now before I continue, Chapter 13 is a demon from Helheim (or fearling?). No seriously, this mind wound you cuz, well, we see Jack's trauma so far. Oooh, and more trauma! Basically, this is a hot mess lmao.**

 **WARNING: THERE IS MINOR NONCON TOUCHING IN THIS CHAPTER. I WILL SECTION IT OFF, SO DON'T READ IT IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT!**

 **Alright, now I believe I can start xD**

* * *

(Hel's Catacombs)

Jack stared blankly at the obsidian wall as Ciara comforted a shaking Nefra in the background. He took no mind in the worried glances directed towards him or Pitch whispering sweet nothings as he cautiously patted him softly.

All he could think of was _Khione_.

He thought that she'd get over the invalidation of their marriage so long ago, over his rejection to love her, yet she's still obsessed with it. He thought that she wouldn't be back, wouldn't look for more, yet here she was. He thought that history wouldn't repeat itself, history Jokül and Khione had in the past, yet he's being forced into whatever this was. He thought that he'd be able to forget all of the past, forget the horrors Khione left him with, yet he couldn't help but think about it.

Her hands, so dainty and so cold, played him like an instrument, his forced out moans echoing through his head.

Her face, so angelic and demonic, lit up in glee as she took him under her, his tears running down his cheeks.

Her lips, so soft and so terrifying, tightly rubbed against his as he choked on his screams, his pale lips turning red.

The worst were her eyes, so greedy and lustful, bore through his mind, his whimpers escaping his throat.

He felt Pitch's slender hand gently rub his shoulder, his clothed shoulder thank Gods.

"Jack."

" _Jackie."_

"It is alright, she is not here."

" _With nobody here, it will be perfect."_

"You are going to be okay."

" _Oh don't be scared of that, Jackie. I could never imagine doing something as harsh as that."_

"There is nothing to worry about."

" _Trust me when I say all of your worries will melt away."_

Jack clutched the hem of his blue hoodie as he could hear Khione slurring lies against his ear, as he could feel her hands dancing across his body.

Ciara ordered, "Pitch, it's fucking clear you're not helping him. Get the hell away!"

Pitch complied, withdrawing himself from him. However, his hand latched onto his black robe, and Pitch stared at Jack in confusion. "Ciara—?"

"Just stay with him, fucking idiot!"

Rolling his eyes at Ciara, Pitch went back to comforting him, his smooth hand petting Jack's white locks.

Jack closed his eyes as nostalgia for Yuki washed over him in comforting waves.

 _She dived into his gaping mouth, a hand rustling through the individual strands of his tangled hair._

With a gasp, Jack's eyes shot open, startling Pitch enough to send him nearly toppling.

' _Jokül, where are you? Help me, please help me!'_

"Jokül," he sobbed, curling into a ball, "Jokül, help me."

Pitch stared at Jack in confusion. "Who's Jokül?"

"He's the fusion of two frost giants, Jokül and Frösti." All eyes, except Jack's, cued in on Nefra as her soft voice ricocheted through the room. "Jokül now resides inside of Jack, a sort of spiritual mentor, if you will."

Her eyelids began to droop while she looked at Jack's state worryingly. "What happened to him?"

"Khione," Ciara muttered under her breath, loud enough for Nefra to understand.

Instantly, as if Nefra's tiredness had left her with that one name, she bolted towards Jack and gruffly hugged him.

The frost teen tensed his body before relaxing in her hold as she massaged his back.

"You have to snap back to the present right now. All of it's the past, she isn't here," Nefra commanded.

" _Oh but, we were so close."_

Before Nefra could continue, a deep voice interjected, "I say, I've never seen Frost so terrified."

Once Jack looked up, he met the venomous gaze of a burly guard holding a tray of food, his smirk growing as his eyes lingered.

When Ciara tried to curse him out, everyone's but Jack's chain suddenly shortened considerably, sending them crashing against the wall to their original positions.

The man set the tray down far from anyone's reach with a clank before stepping closer to Jack, ignoring Ciara's threats as he lifted the limp teen up by his neck.

"No sassy comebacks, Frost?" The guard laughed when he saw Jack's still vacant look. "Whatever Master has been doing, she's been doing something right."

Jack's eyes widened when plump fingers pinched his sore, swollen bottom lip. "Huh, so it seems she's been sexually torturing you. Not one of Master's most prized methods, but possibly just one of that Snow Goddess's ones."

His let out a boisterous snigger. "At least we finally got you Frost. Took a while, but we were successful."

Finished with his one sided talk, the man unceremoniously dropped the teen, Jack whimpering as he fell on his bottom. Said guard then kicked the metal tray of food towards them.

Before he could get out, Ciara yelled, "You bitch!"

" _Snær bikkja!"_

The guard let the insult fly over his head as he walked outside. Once the door slammed shut, the chains all grew again, allowing Ciara to distribute the bowls of mushy food to each of them, Jack simply watching on.

Saving the largest bowl for Jack, Ciara went in front of him to set it down. She huffed when he didn't even move to get the cold meal.

Nefra scooped some of the mush in her bowl into her mouth, still peering at Jack. "He's probably nauseous, Ciara. Did he throw up back there?"

"Yeah," Ciara replied, "Still, he could at least fucking say something. You know it's a shock that I'm gushing over his ass so much."

"Eh, not really." Jack heard Nefra set down her bowl onto the rusty tray. "You can get pretty protective in your mother hen mode."

"Mother hen mode? Are you sure you haven't been reading too much?" Ciara commented.

"I'm positive," Nefra responded, "Now, you go eat and I'll feed Jack."

Pitch agreed as he finished up, "Ciara, we are able to care for him just fine. Go ahead and eat, you need your energy."

"Shut your asses and let me handle him," Ciara snapped, trying to push them away.

Annoyed, the Goddess spun towards him, her flaming eyes meeting his vacant ones.

"Ugh Frosty, just eat already!"

Startled, Jack slowly blinked his eyes and looked at the food in front of him. Once he could taste bile up his throat, he turned his head away from the bowl, earning a growl from Ciara.

A second later, Jack yelped as something akin to a metal whip on fire lashed his foot,"Ow—mph!"

The instant he opened his mouth, Ciara shoveled a spoonful of the mystery food into it, covering the area up so that he couldn't spit it out.

He tried swatting away her hand, tried writhing out of her grasp, but ended up pitched to the side, Ciara's hand still on his mouth. Admitting defeat, he swallowed, and the woman immediately let go.

Just when he was about to scramble away, he was held against Ciara's chest, his chains wound across his torso. Jack jerked his head away from the spoon as Ciara tried to give him more.

"Sit your frosted ass still!" Ciara shouted, "Or I'll fucking hit you again!"

Freezing at the threat, Jack complied, choking down the food. Ciara merely sighed and unwound him.

"I trust it that you don't need to be fed like a baby, right?" Ciara tossed him the spoon.

Fumbling with the utensil, Jack nodded his head and took the bowl. Ciara, now satisfied, left to eat her own meal.

He stared at the gray sludge inside. Jack honestly didn't want to eat it with how queasy his stomach was, but a glare from Ciara made him wolf it down rapidly.

Once they both finished and Ciara knocked the tray off to the corner, the room fell into silence. The lack of sound allowed Jack's mind to travel elsewhere, a land of grim memories that he wanted to shove away into the depths of his brain.

 _He futilely wiggled in the embrace before being slammed onto the duvet, back against the soft comforter as Khione stayed above him. His hands were pinned above him, her knee holding his hips down. He gasped when her lips robbed his first kiss, bucking even more in protest._

Jack closed his eyes as waves of grief washed through him.

 _In a flash of silver, Natalie drove her dagger right into Yuki's abdomen. Yuki kept a neutral face. The torturer, furious, drew out the dagger. It plunged once again into Yuki's waist, more blood staining her ice blue cloak. The dagger agonizingly swept across her body, Yuki's screams echoing through the area._

Jack held back his tears, hiding his face under his hands.

 _Khione's tongue tangled itself up with his, slowly stroking his stoic tongue as her lips rubbed against his chapped ones. Black dots swam in his darkening vision as pangs of desire shot down his spine like ripples of energy, the knot in his stomach growing even stronger. He couldn't do anything with that fierce hold on his breath she had, except letting loose soft whimpers._

Jack curled up into a ball as his breath began to quicken in panic.

 _Just when his fingers brushed against the doorknob, an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him backwards, his back against Yuki's chest. He thrashed within her tight grip, pummeled her arm to let him go, screamed like there was no tomorrow, and even tried frosting up her feet, but she still didn't let go. Instead, she tossed him against the wall and held his jerking wrists above his head._

"Jack? It'd be best if you started talking again."

Tanned fingers gently tilted his chin up till he met Nefra's warm, brown eyes. She quickly wiped away his tears, a small grin on her face.

"Let's give Cici a break here," Nefra teased with a giggle, "Gods know what she'll do in that mother hen mode of hers."

Jack chuckled along, his voice slightly crackling from its lack of use. "Yeah, you're right."

As if his hoarse voice was a beacon, Ciara ran up to him, pushing Nefra aside as she shook him. "Fuck it, finally you're actually talking and not mumbling for Jokül!"

Jack, along with his broken laughter, started coughing violently, so hard that Ciara had to let go of his shoulders. Once the coughs cleared, he glanced up, hauntingly black eyes locking with his.

"She's here."

The goddess in front of him rolled her eyes. "Frosty, she's not—" Ciara cursed when she followed his gaze. "Shit!"

Indeed, traveling down the stairwell was none other than Khione, dressed up in her usual blue robe, except this time the fabric had an extra shine.

"Oh no you aren't, slut!" Ciara shielded Jack from her, arms covering his view. "You are not going to take him anywhere! I thought Hel was angry at you for last time!"

"I know," Khione replied coolly, "She allowed me ten minutes, and I intend to use them. Now, step aside."

"Not moving my ass anywhere, you fucking slut," Ciara shot back.

Suddenly, Ciara's chains shortened again, along with everyone's except Jack's, sending them all flying to the walls. With the goddess out of her way, Khione began to stride towards him, the poor teen edging back. Before he could completely reach the wall, Khione's patience waned, and she grabbed a hold of one of his loose chains.

Jack instantly clutched a hook attached to the wall, his body flipping around.

He shrieked as his arms were about to dislocate themselves, shrieked as his fingers began slipping off the thin object keeping him from being Khione's.

Once his hand let go of the hook, he harshly collided against the stone floor, his whole body jarring with the impact.

 **(Okay, this is where things get sexual a bit, not much, but yeah. I'll tell when it's done too!)**

He was turned around, his front side facing Khione. The goddess panted slightly as she pinned his shoulders down, leaning against him as she straddled her hips over his thighs.

In that second of tranquility, Jack could hear shouting from his friends for her to stop. However, the Goddess of Snow paid no heed to their complaints and simply carried on.

As she scooted up to his hips, Jack screamed once again, voice hoarse from abuse. He was soon silenced by a kiss, her lips muffling whatever he tried to say.

Gripping onto his hair, Khione twisted their bodies to where Jack's head was above hers, but she still laid over his lower half. His yelling soon turned to sobs when she slithered her hand under his hoodie, slowly, agonizingly tracing over each part of his upper body.

Jack, dying to breathe, futility bit the tongue in his mouth. In return, Khione merely continued the kiss, pinching his skin harshly. He yelped and followed along, knowing from her abrasive hand what would happen if he didn't.

Finally, Khione untangled her lips from his, allowing him the chance to gulp in air. From how sensitive and sore they were, the wintry teen had a guess as to how swollen his lips were.

His body buckled as pleasure shot down his spine, Khione grinning lavisciously once she saw his screwed up face. Slowly, she massaged the sweet spot she found on his neck, Jack trying to hold his moans.

He gave up the challenge and let the sounds wash through him, the moans mixed with sobs.

"Shh, there Jackie," Khione comforted, stroking his hair, "I'm not hurting you at all, am I?"

He wanted to scream at her for all the abuse she's done, for all the nightmares of her plaguing his sleep, for all the mental scars he had. Alas, he remained silent, paralyzed even, as the overwhelming sense of guilt and fear overpowered him.

Gathering the tattered pride he had, Jack whispered, "Please, please just stop."

"Hmmm." Khione looked at the hourglass charm clasped onto her neck, showing him the grains of sand still at the top. "By this, it appears I still have a few minutes, Jackie."

 **(Okay, it's over now!)**

Nefra yelled, "Stop hurting him, Khione! Haven't you had enough?"

In response, Khione paused, sliding off of Jack. "Do not move, my prince."

She then stood up and walked over to the bound Egyptian goddess, lifting her up by the collar of her shredded, purple dress. "Dear Ma'at, I will never be satisfied until I have my full way with him."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?!" Ciara barked out.

"It means," Khione said, peering at Ciara as if she was a piece of gum on her shoe, "I will not stop until I fully have him."

"Then why not now?" Ciara debated, "Ten minutes is enough time, certainly."

Khione looked back at Jack, seeing past his vacant, blue irises. "He is not prepared."

"It doesn't seem like you fucking care, now does it?"

Nefra interjected when Khione dropped her, "Ciara, stop!

"You do not know my history, nor the reasoning for my decisions," Khione snarled, approaching the woman, "You do not know me, Adrestia, so I suggest you leave me alone."

"I do, at least a little," Jack spoke out softly, bearing the brunt of Khione's icy glare, "Jokül tells me stories about you, from when you were born till he got imprisoned."

"Pray tell, has he misled you to believe I am a monster?" Khione crossed her arms over her torso.

"Well, no." Jack quaked as he painstakingly rose from the floor to sit in an Indian style position. "He's mainly told me good things, even if he sprinkles in his resentment for your betrayal."

"Betrayal?" Khione scoffed, "He has tainted your mind with such blasphemy."

"Well, what else would you call allowing your own husband to be imprisoned for something _you_ did!" Jack snarked, "You betrayed him."

"I did no such thing!" Khione then sighed. "My prince—"

"I know what you did!" Jack shouted, shakingly standing up, body weak enough that he had to lean against the wall. He sent his harshest stare towards her. "There's no reason justifiable for all the pain you've caused."

"Jackie." Khione clenched her hand in a fist. "Be glad I love you, or else I would have frozen you by now."

Jack spread out his arms. "Then go ahead Snær Bikkja, nothing's stopping you!"

The teen fought the urge to close his eyes once he saw a bolt of ice flying towards him. However, before it could hit him, a blast of fire knocked the ice off its course, hitting the floor beside him instead.

Everyone looked up at where the fire had come from, Jack's eyes watering when he realized who was there.

It was Sabrina.

"The ten minutes are over now, Khione," Sabrina ordered as she jumped down, landing with a squat, "Leave now or face Mother's wrath."

Khione looked at her hourglass charm, noticing not a single sand at the top. "I suppose our time is up. I shall see you again, Jackie!"

Jack slid down, blankly staring as the Snow Goddess flew to the top of the stairs, leaving them with Sabrina.

' _I don't understand how she flips her emotions like a dime,'_ Jack said to himself.

' _ **I always suspected she was bipolar,'**_ Jokül replied.

Saying Jack was peeved at Jokül's late appearance was an understatement. ' _Where the Helheim were you?!'_

' _ **Gathering little bits of unrestrained magic to communicate with you,Ungr Vetr,'**_ Jokül answered, ' _ **Had I missed anything?'**_

' _Missed anything?!'_ Jack screamed at Jokül, ' _I was sexualy harrased by Khione TWICE and Ciara won't quit acting like a mom. I dunno what's worse, Angry Cici or Mama Cici.'_

' _ **That is not polite to say, Ungr Vetr,'**_ Jokül chided, ' _ **However, I cannot believe that Snær Bikkja would dare hurt you!'**_

' _Jokül, it's obvious by now,'_ Jack remarked with a blank voice, ' _Also, why the heck do you curse out Khione yet love her too?'_

' _ **Let us say love is more complicated than what you perceive it as, Ungr Vetr.'**_

"Are you alright?" Sabrina's voice snapped him back from his impromptu conversation with Jokül.

With a quick scan around the room, Jack could see everyone worriedly looking at him, even Pitch. "Guys, I'm fine."

 _No, I'm not._

"Nobody is alright after being…" Pitch trailed off, unable to mention it.

"I know," Jack finished off for him, "but I really am fine. Jokül's back, so I'll be okay."

Nefra squinted accusingly towards him. "Are you sure? I mean, Sabrina could give you a moonlight pill again."

Jack paled slightly; he really didn't want to act like a drug addict again. "Errrrm, I think I'll pass."

Sabrina chuckled at his objection. "Fine, but do not go back to your unresponsive stage. It does not fit with the hyper blizzard you are."

"I'll try," Jack promised, "So, did you just come here to stop Khione?"

"Yes, I could not help but hear your screaming." Sabrina promptly waved it off. "Although, I do bring good news."

"What is it?" Nefra's eyes shined with hope.

"Well, your friends and I are planning your four's escape," Sabrina explained, "However, this is not the best area to explain the schematics of the plan."

 _Thank gods we're leaving this hellhole soon!_

"Nevertheless, my mother does not know I am here," Sabrina announced, "Do you need anything, Jack?"

Jack, habitually, bit his sore lip in thought, wincing at the spark of pain it elicited. "No, I'm fine."

 _Yes, I need someone to help me._

If Sabrina noticed Jack's uncertainty, she didn't comment, "Alright, if not then I must be off."

All eyes were suddenly directed at Jack, the poor teen curling slightly at the attention. He breathed in deeply and smiled a weak grin in return.

Finally satisfied, or showing fake satisfaction, Sabrina left the cell through the stairwell. Jack's gaze lingered at the door before he scooted to the closest wall and closed his eyes.

 _Though, there's nobody to save me_

* * *

 **Yep, I feel your surprise that the sexual assault wasn't half bad. Well, it probably was bad for you, but I'm just a sadist. Also, you gotta love me for the length lmao. Anyway, leave some follows, favorites and reviews! You guys know how much I love feedback and questions!**

 _._ **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**


	16. Chapter 14

**Yes, you are not delusional! I actually updated within a week DURING finals week! Although, this chapter is honestly very poorly written and rushed.**

 **I sped through writing this because I COMPLETELY forgot about Ramadan (the Muslim holy month), and I won't be able to write any angst at all for a month :P. The reason being is that during Ramadan, you really aren't supposed to have sexualized thoughts or promote/write about violence etc. Basically saying, I can only do fluff fics and this is CLEARLY not a fluff fic. Because it's Summer, I might spend time writing fluff one shots that may or may not involve the Restoring Balance world. I just wanted to give you this warning since Ramadan will start later this week (I can't tell until we get the moon sighting that determines the start).**

 **Warning: There is BLOODLESS torture AS WELL AS traumatic** **flashbacks. I don't remember if I did a warning for these things in the past, so I'll do one rn.**

* * *

(Nightmare)

 _We won the battle, we won the war, yet why do I feel so empty? A chasm is in my heart, a chasm so grand that nothing will ever fill it, so grand that it could never be stitched up like the gashes Yuki patched up through the centuries. I know that, after everything that occurred so rapidly, I was a goner. I could never defeat the true enemies, never win the war within, never stop my heart and soul from falling into darkness._

 _Empty, blue eyes stared at the wreckage left behind. The wreckage I contributed to the most. Corpses were strewn across the battlefield, some losses from my side, but a majority from Summer's army. Men hauled wagons with the bodies of those that were practically valueless in the Summer and Winter court hierarchies, leaving behind precious weapons made of diamond and steel as their owners were unceremoniously dumped into trenches. Those in higher classes had all their valuables with them as they were transported to a much better burial site, some even getting the luxury of being sent to their homelands to be buried in a family grave._

 _However, my attention was on the open coffin, the only coffin, that was carried by a troop of soldiers towards me. Blaze's coffin._

 _I gripped my sword in reflex once they neared and gently laid their prize down, the golden trim of the red casket gleaming at me in melancholy. The soldiers' faces all held scorn and hate, but I merely looked down at the yellow robed body inside._

 _His beautiful sword, a golden scimitar, and a pair of dueling knives were laid across his chest, arms carefully folded on top. Someone managed to reattach his head with some sort of spell, one that Nefra would probably know._

 _It was tradition for the victor of a Seasonal War to do what they pleased with the ruler of the losing side, most of the time with the corpse as none would ever submit to such disgrace. I knew that Boreas used to mutilate them, disemboweling them till they were unrecognizable, frosting them and cutting them even more. He would have taken all of their treasured weapons, which are all displayed within a section of the Winter Palace. Jokül was even worse; he would sometimes force the losing party to inflict the damage and would throw the destroyed body into garbage or acid for months, forcing them to take out the rotten out corpse to bury._

 _However, the circumstances were different this time. I could never shame Blaze, someone I called my former friend and ally, even if we weren't too close. He still meant a lot to me, regardless of his betrayal._

 _I couldn't do it._

 _Taking in a shaky breath, I ordered, "Take back his body, I allow him to rest in peace."_

 _The redhead back in the battle, Natalie, snarled as a blood stain on her waist continued to grow, "Do not give us pity, Winter Sovereign. He was our ruler, our leader, and now you suddenly feel shame for killing him? Take him!"_

" _No," I barked, "I will not touch a single hair, nor will I compensate his weapons as a winning prize. He is one who should be forever respected."_

" _You bring more shame to the court for rejecting tradition!" Natalie growled, sliding a hand towards her weapon strapped at her hip. I prepared for an onslaught of pain._

 _However, a brown haired man beside her stopped her, holding out a hand. "Alright Winter Sovereign, we thank you for your grace."_

 _I relaxed my grip slightly as they all prepared to leave, eight soldiers hoisting the casket on their shoulders. None of them gave me a glance as they promptly left, the man leading them._

 _None of them saw the bead of ice that dropped to the bloodstained ground._

* * *

(Hel's Catacombs)

Jack blinked himself awake, the nightmare slipping through his mind the second he opened his eyes. Still, he knew that he had some sort of hellish dream, remembering the tremors that shook his body after he woke. Hopefully it wasn't about Khione; although, he highly doubted it was.

Suddenly, his sluggish mind finally caught on to the fact that he wasn't in the cell.

Panicking, Jack tugged at his hands, which he realized were bound by a thick, coarse rope behind him. In a snap, a million sensations rushed at him: the burn of iron over his back and thighs, the tightness of the rubber-like bands binding his ankles to the legs of the chair, the throb in his head as if he'd been hit by a bowling ball.

Not helping with his panic, the bright light of a torch flashed in his eyes, the poor teen blinking away the stars in his vision. Thanks to the light, Jack managed to notice the details of the room he was in.

Like the last one, the obsidian walls were decorated in a bouquet of torture tools, these ones more medieval themed and much older. Cobwebs formed in between the open jaws of the Pear of Anguish **(1)** , blood coating multiple screws. Against the adjacent wall was some sort of human sized chest, an old crank attached to it.

"I see you have never been here before."

Jack snapped his head towards the voice, gasping when his cerulean orbs met ocean blue ones. He slowly edged his head back as the man closed in on him, their noses touching. The other chuckled when the teen flinched in fear, his fingers gently stroking Jack's jaw.

"Wh-who are you?" Jack stuttered out, finally managing to breathe.

The other smirked, tilting Jack's head up, exposing his neck. "I am the Dark Lord, young Winter Immortal; although, some know me as Loki."

Jack gulped, Jokül told him horror stories of the wicked God, of how his prisoners would be broken beyond repair in the matter of weeks. He frowned when he saw how ordinary he looked, black hair slicked back in a neat fashion, his pantsuit in pristine condition. The longer he stared, the more the sense of déjà vu in his core grew.

"Confused as to why I appear so familiar?" Loki suggested, "I suppose it would with how Hel and Colby are my offspring."

Jack's frown deepened, he knew Loki was Hel's father, but who was the other? "Colby?"

Loki merely brushed his fingernails against Jack's cheek. "Ah yes, I forgot he went as Ciara now."

 _He? Ciara's a girl though. Unless…_

Withdrawing from him, Loki began to stroll around lazily, the clicks of his coal black shoes sharp and prominent. Jack was, on the other hand, lost in thought about Ciara, more specifically on her back story. Sure they were buddies, to an extent, but she seldom talked about anything before Nefra found her, both to him and the girl. He felt like this was some breach of privacy on her part, and honestly it was.

 _I swear, if I get more sappy about her, people'll begin to ship us._

"However," Jack shivered when a sudden tendril of hot breath trailed down on the back of his neck. "we are not here to discuss about that wench."

"Ciara's not a wench!" Jack objected, regardless of his animosity towards her.

Ignoring his snide remark, Loki continued, "Rather, I have a set of questions of my own."

"And I'm not answering a single one," Jack snarled.

"Oh?" The man was now in front of him, a mock frown on his face. "Here I thought that you would understand insatiable curiosity more than anyone else."

"Shut up," Jack hissed as Loki began ruffling his hair teasingly, "and stop acting like Khione!"

"How am I acting like the Snow Goddess?"

Jack glared at the jesting man. "You know how."

"I see," the God declared, pausing his touches but keeping his hand entangled within his hair, "I sincerely apologize for making you relive her tortures."

Jack scowled as Loki's voice oozed sarcasm. "Aren't you going to start asking questions now?"

"Ah yes," he purred, messing with Jack's disheveled locks even more, "I am simply curious about your history. I know you were sired by Iah and Selene Overland, have gone through drowning to become an immortal, and was a pain for my daughter, but nothing else. Tell me, do you have any other friends past those imprisoned here?"

"No, I don't," Jack replied coolly, eyes glaring, "I have no more buddies."

"What about the one you helped you escape from here long ago? A Yuki Onna, was it?" Loki inquired.

Jack took in a deep breath, lying through his clenched teeth, "She was just helping me escape. We're not…friends."

"Fortunately, I was not keen on looking for an answer," Loki said, "Although, I am curious about your human life."

"What about it?"

"We both know what you gave Khione was a cover up, was it not?" Loki accused, knowing his answer when Jack's eyes widened, "All I ask is for their real names."

Jack bit his lip, Jokül told him to stay quiet, but this was Loki. "Not telling you."

A smirk grew on the man's face as he took out a dagger. "I was expecting so."

Jack closed his eyes, anticipating for the pain that was going to come. However, he was startled when the bonds around him were cut loose, and he was hoisted up by Loki.

The man chuckled. "Do not thank me yet, young Winter Immortal."

Jack opened his eyes, freezing. They were heading to the large chest.

In fear, his legs refused to move while Loki dragged him. As they neared, Jack noticed how old the box was, rust and dried blood caking the obsidian exterior. He sincerely didn't want to know what was _inside_.

The second Loki unlocked the door was the second Jack's body began moving; thrashing, kicking, _anything_ , to get out from Loki's clutches. However, his efforts were met with a ferocious toss that sent him striking against the black stone interior, the door slamming behind him, enveloping him in a world of darkness.

He tried standing up, only to see that he couldn't do anything more but loosely squat. He tried extending his arms, only to see that he couldn't do anything more but fold them by his sides. He tried moving his legs, only to see that he couldn't do anything more but keep his knees pressed against the metal door. He tried calming down, only to see that he couldn't.

Jack would never admit this, but he was extremely **(2)** claustrophobic as well as **(3)** nyctophobic.

After a few minutes, Jack began hyperventilating, panic clouding his mind. ' _Jokül, I know very well that you can talk right now. Help me!'_

' _ **Ungr Vetr,'**_ Jokül replied calmly, ' _ **I am here for you. We shall face this together.'**_

' _Why can't you just take over my mind? Please Jokül, I'm tired and exhausted of all this,'_ Jack begged.

Jokül's voice was heavy with grief, ' _ **You are not powerful enough, Ungr Vetr. If I gain control, you might die.'**_

' _Then, I'll die! I don't care anymore!'_ Jack shot back.

' _ **Ungr Vetr—'**_

' _Shut up, Jokül! I don't want any meaningless words!'_ Jack yelled.

There was a pause.

' _ **Place your hand against the stone wall.'**_

' _What?'_

' _ **Do it, right now.'**_ Jokül barked, ' _ **Nightlight is going to try to light up the area.'**_

Jack complied, gasping when he saw a thread of light intertwined within the rock beside him. He calmed down slightly as the beam of blue illuminated the small area.

"What is going on there?" Jack heard Loki snarl.

Jack, surprisingly, let out a small grin. "What do you think, Loki?"

The man huffed, "Alright Jack, you leave me no choice but to make this harder for you."

Jack's heart dropped when he caught the sound of rusty gears working, yelping as the ceiling above him began to lower down.

Palms against the top, he tried to stop himself from being squeezed. It only went lower. Desperately, Jack brought his legs up to apply more pressure against the falling roof. His efforts were in vain as he got more crushed.

He heard a rib crack. His shoulder got dislocated. His wrist snapped.

Finally, the top of the box stopped moving. He was stuck in a fetal position, knees folded up above his head, head sandwiched between his thighs. The area was still slightly illuminated, but bringing him no comfort. Tears welled up within his eyes as pain flared up through his body, anxiety racing through his veins as the walls were unrelenting.

' _J-J-Jokül?'_ Jack whimpered.

No answer.

' _Jokül!'_

' _ **I am so sorry, Ungr Vetr,'**_ Jokül muttered back.

Beads of ice fell from his eyes. ' _Please, just help me.'_

' _ **That, unfortunately, I cannot do. I can only numb your injuries.'**_

Jack stayed silent.

"I just miss the North Wind," Jack promptly whispered, finally caving in.

"What?"

The winter immortal responded dejectedly, "You wanted to know about my friends, right? She's my greatest one, from the moment I woke up from the lake. She gave me my first memory, one of joy."

The ceiling rose an inch, leaving Jack a little stretching room. "First memory?"

"Yeah, I only remembered waking up from the lake. Why I was there for, what was I meant to do, I didn't know," the teen blabbed on as Loki graciously gave him more space in his confinement, allowing him to sit up, "The moon told me my name, Jack Frost. I wandered into a village wanting to greet everyone, only to realize I was invisible. I came back to the pond, and that's when Jokül talked to me."

"Who is this Jokül?" Loki asked back.

Jack sighed, knowing very well that he had lost. "He's a spirit inside of me, Jokül Frösti that is. Yuki told me how he was the first Winter Sovereign, and now I'm the third one."

The top rose even more. "What about your human life?"

"I don't know," Jack quickly added when the top dropped, "I only found out I had memories when I became a Guardian two years ago!"

"Really now?"

"Yes," Jack answered tersely.

"What had you uncovered?"

Jack merely closed his eyes, remaining silent. Of everything, this man would never be able to breach into his human past, never hear him say it.

A second passed. Then two. Before long, Loki got annoyed.

He shrieked as the walls began closing in on him at all four sides, the roof still stubbornly low. His feet were now under his ass, knees poking roughly against his chest. Clawing at the door, Jack sobbed as the top was cranked down even lower.

"Loki, no! I was giving answers, I was giving answers!" Jack screamed, hands clutching his hair as he was further compressed into a ball.

Before he could actually black out in pain and stress, the box froze in its new position. "I know, young Winter Immortal. However, you have not given me the one answer I desire the most. I want to know your parents' true names."

"I don't know any other names!" Jack shouted back.

"No nicknames?"

Jack gulped, eyes widening in fear. _Should he tell or remain silent?_

"Answer me Jack, and I will let you go."

" _Now be a good little Sovereign and tell me what their names are, and I shall let you go back to the cell."_

"Liar!" Jack cried out as Khione's seductive words filled his mind, "Nothing but lies!"

"What?"

Jack felt his sanity break as thoughts, words and visions promptly assaulted his mind.

 _That was when the head rolled to my feet. I knelt to take a closer look. Blond hair peeked out from the tears of the shredded hood. I slowly took off the golden mask adorning its face, already drawing conclusions on who it was. My guess was correct when I found myself staring into a pair of lifeless, golden-brown eyes that still held a spark of arrogance in them._

 _"Attack the Winter Sovereign! He has killed our king and shall pay for his murder!"_

"All you want to do is spread war. Do you think I don't know about the prophecy?" Jack was breathing even more harshly as a flame of anger burned within him.

 _However, my attention was on the open coffin, the only coffin, that was carried by a troop of soldiers towards me. Blaze's coffin._

"You'll never let me go, never!" Jack howled, "I'm just a tool of destruction to you! Nothing but a tool that would always be locked up and beaten and starved an-and…"

 _Khione went on the bed as well and ran a hand through his silky hair before gently tilting his head up to hers, noses touching._

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Doing what I have waited centuries to do."_

"Abused!"

"Jack, please calm down—"

"Calm down?" Black dots swam across his vision as his breathing became more labored, "Newsflash, I don't care! You and I both know your real intentions, and once the Guardians and Yuki come, you'll never have me!"

Jack ignored the groan from the box, ignored the glowing frost sprouting from him in his panic and fury. "When will everyone realize that I want to be left alone? I'm sick and tired of being used!"

" _Shh, there Jackie," Khione comforted, stroking his hair, "I'm not hurting you at all, am I?"_

The abrupt crack of stone resonated in the air, followed by two, three, four. "Jack Frost, stop right now!"

"Why should I?" Jack responded as he pressed against all of the crumbling sides to the best of his ability.

"You will harm yourself!"

Jack laughed, half hysterical. "Isn't that your goal? It's not like I'm a prisoner, huh?"

 _I ran into the crowd, slicing away. All was a blur as tears of sorrow welled in my eyes. That was the only bliss: not looking at the massacre I caused with the powers of winter and swordsmanship. Instinct took a hold of me._

In that second, the chest exploded with Jack's world shattering.

* * *

 **Well, my beta pointed out that I should explain a few things, so here's that explanation:**

 **(1) Pear of Anguish— A cylindricalish medieval torture device that basically expands as you crank it. It's typically used in the openings of people, such as the mouth, vagina or anus. The torturer inserts this device into said opening, and using the crank, the sides fold out further and further, potentially dislocating bones or tearing muscle and flesh.**

 **(2) Claustrophobia— Fear of tight or enclosed places (just added the definition for no reason tbh)**

 **(3) Nyctophobia— Fear of the dark**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**


	17. Chapter 15

***sees last time updated* UGH, when I thought I was getting better! That's it, I need to force myself to update more often. That or some of you followers to yell at me for updates. Okay Winter, I hereby swear to update every other week. Hopefully it'll get me more motivated to write, hopefully :P. The worst part? This is a filler. Haha, enjoy!**

* * *

(Mother Nature's Palace)

"Rise and shine, Rabbit!"

Bunny groggily opened his eyes, embracing the filtered light through the green-panelled windows. He gasped when golden brown orbs connected with his, immediately falling onto the white and golden tiled floor. Consequently, he accidentally tangled himself and the Summer Sovereign together with the light green blanket he was wearing.

Rising up, Bunny didn't realize that Bedelia was underneath him or that he was straddling her hips.

That is, until Bedelia eloquently commented, "Well, I didn't think I'd be humping a kangaroo this morning."

Finally noticing the woman underneath him, Bunny yelped and rolled over, bringing Bedelia on top. The Sovereign's face held a mischievous smirk as she propped her elbows on his chest, head cupped in her hands.

She leaned towards him, her face centimeters away from his before she whispered in a falsely husky voice, "So, riding you it is, huh?"

"Get off me, Sheila!" Bunny shouted back, "And get your bloody arse out of my room!"

"Aww, but it was fun playing with you," Bedelia teased, stroking one of the Pooka's ears.

Before Bunny could protest, the door opened, a yelp following after. Bunny turned to the entrance, squeaking when he saw Erantha's green eyes looking at them in shock and horror.

"I did not expect such vulgarity when I asked Bedelia to wake you," Erantha stated emotionlessly, eyes still trained on the duo, "I should probably leave and let both of you—What was that expression? Have it like rabbits, I believe?"

"Wait, don't—!" Before Bunny could finish, the door slammed shut, the sound that signalled his end resonating through his head.

Turning towards the woman on top of him, who was chilling on his chest, Bunny huffed, "Let's get out of this bloody mess."

"Again, nah. I kinda like it," Bedelia denied, wiggling her butt.

Bunny closed his eyes in shame. "Please, just try to get untangled."

Seeing the poor Pooka's state, Bedelia sighed. "Fine."

However, no matter how much they tried, the blanket just would not detangle itself from the duo.

"Huh, now this is awkward," Bedelia said offhandedly as her entire body rested against the other's chest, "And Erantha forced me to wear this sappy, yellow dress of hers. This sucks."

"I know," Bunny replied tersely before standing up with Bedelia in his arms, earning a yelp from the Sovereign, "The others might help."

"Emphasis on 'might'," Bedelia grumbled as they both left the room.

Walking in the white tiled hallways in silence, Bunny stared in awe at how the golden hallways seemed to glitter. In this wing of the palace, the abstract paintings of spring were so lifelike that Bunny felt like he could pluck any of the flowers off the paper. There were also swirling statues of the six past Spring Sovereigns, the white stone shining with bits of diamond, women in their incredible gowns while men wore layers of robes.

So distracted by the beauty, Bunny didn't notice the cinnamon haired boy walking to him, until he almost ran into the poor servant.

"Peter!" Bedelia exclaimed, snapping the Pooka from the trance he had been in earlier.

The boy, who Bedelia called Peter, gently set down the silver tray in his hands before asking, "Is there any way I may assist you?"

"Yeah mate, we're kinda tangled together like two peas in a pod," Bunny responded back.

"I see…" Peter trailed off as he began to walk around them, inspecting every angle. Before Bunny could tell the boy to hurry up, Peter grabbed a section of the green blanket and pulled.

Immediately, the blanket fell off with a swoosh, Bedelia hanging on for dear life when she nearly fell to the ground. Her worries were unfounded as Bunny already caught her him his arms, gently getting her feet onto the ground.

"Sorry my lady and lord, I tend to be clumsy." Peter smiled sheepishly. "Lady Nature had summoned you both to an emergency meeting in the Seasonal Council Room, but she told me to give a few refreshments before arriving." The servant then picked up the tray in a fluid motion, handing it to the slightly flustered Bunnymund. "Would you care to eat in your room, in the gardens, or as we walk to the meeting?"

"As we walk will do, Peter," Bedelia responded as she snatched the plate from the Pooka's hands, strolling off.

Peter dashed in front of her, Bunny hopping beside to snatch a few biscuits to eat.

"I've always wondered, why'd ya address Emily Jane as Lady when she's your Mistress?" Bunny bit into the buttermilk biscuit he held, groaning softly at the amazing texture, "Also, these are a beaut!"

Peter turned to him. "Yes, our chefs make the most exquisite food. It is a shame that you haven't enjoyed the best of our meals. As for calling my mistress a lady…" The boy's face changed into a light shade of pink. "She had requested that I do so when I swore to be a part of her staff."

"Ya chose to be here? Most don't." Bunny had thought that Peter was a poor boy that was forced into enslavement, not that he signed his own life away.

The other merely shrugged. "I know, but Lady Nature saved my life by taking me into her care. My village had been attacked."

He didn't have to say who, Bunny got the gist. He'd been so busy protecting _mortal_ children that he forgot the ones in _his_ world.

Maybe Jack was right about criticizing them two years ago.

Bunny shook his head and continued walking until they reached a set of gold plated doors that looked awfully familiar to him. As Peter went to unlock the door, the Pooka then realized that he'd been here before, just came through a different way.

Due to his age and strong affinity with Spring, Bunny wask a part of the Seasonal Council, a group of sixteen, four per season, that were responsible for the planning of the seasons. He's a part of the Spring members, even though mainly the Spring Elder spirits were the ones that represented their season. Honestly, Bunny had never thought that any of the Sovereigns attended the meetings, except maybe for the fellow that always shielded his identity with cascading, blue robes and a mask made of ice over his hood shaded face.

The one whom the other Winter members regarded with respect, despite the fact that his voice sounded so young. The voice that sounded like Jack's.

 _Oh blimey!_

"Connected the dots, I reckon?" Bedelia elbowed the rabbit, her eyes sparkling with a hint of amusement.

"Why didn't you bloody tell me that Frostbite was a Seasonal Council member!"

"What?" Bunny forgot that the door was opened, allowing the Guardians to hear him, especially one inquisitive North.

The Pooka peered into the white walled room, giving a sheepish grin to the jolly man who was sitting in one of the red velvet chairs around the large, mahogany table. Around North were Tooth and Sandy, but three other unrecognizable people sat beside Sandy at the other end of the row.

One of the women, a blonde with blue eyes that could outmatch Themis's, wore a rosy, colonial like blouse with white trim at the collar and a pair of black, pegged pants. The other, a younger lady with brown hair longer than Anemone's and dark brown eyes, had on a slightly worn but beautiful, soft red, long sleeved tunic that reached to her knees and a pair of brown slacks. The man beside her had the same brown on brown combination, having an earthy green shirt and brown pants that were similar to Jack's.

Thinking of Jack sent a wave of sadness to his heart.

Bunny and Bedelia sat down across from each other at the end of the table, the other seasonals, Yuki, Themis and Anemone sitting on her side. To his left was Mother Nature in her green dress from so long ago.

"I am glad you both have arrived at last," Mother Nature greeted, "I hope you both had some refreshments? Oh Peter, mind bringing some meals from the kitchen? We will be doing breakfast here."

Peter, who was at the doorway, nodded his head and went off.

"Once again, introductions are to be made," Mother Nature's face held a soft smile as she speaked, "The man is William Fauna and beside him is Elizabeth Fauna. Tdespited amongst them is Sarah Nartha. They are the leaders of the East, West and South Winds in order."

Bunny saw Tooth frowning. "The winds? I thought Anemone leads them now?"

"Oh, I do!" The wind Goddess responded, "They are basically my subordinates. In fact, William and Elizabeth happen to be my children while Sarah is Themis's."

Themis closed her blue eyes and sighed. "I told you to not mention this, Anemone."

"Oh right! Whoops." Anemone carded through a part of her white hair, a sheepish laugh leaving her lips.

"Why're they here?" Bunny asked, annoyed by the side talk, "We have enough people already."

"Well, we're here because of another concern, " William replied, fingers clasped together in a fist, "Our colleague, Emma Overland, is missing. She's the North Wind, and our suspicion is that she too has been kidnapped by Hel."

The leaders of the winds all dropped their polite smiles.

Sandy, ironically, broke the silence with a golden question mark and a silhouette of a woman. " _Why her?"_

Instead of verbally replying, Sarah pulled out a small bottle covered by a yellow cloth. Unraveling the worn covering, Bunny saw that the glass container was half full of black sand.

"We found this when we were searching for her."

Yuki stared at the bottle, a dark but blank look on her pale face. "I found one as well." She then took out a covered bottle from the folds of her kimono and unpeeled the cloth, revealing the same thing. "I keep it with me as a reminder."

"A reminder for what?" Bunny felt compelled to question.

Yuki looked at him, face grim. "How I failed him so."

It seemed as if her words gave a punch in the gut to everyone in the room, for the place became quiet once more. Bunny was lost in thought, he felt guilty for the harsh comments he'd told her, for all the criticism he'd given her. Still, he couldn't apologize because he didn't know how.

The creak of the door made everyone glance at the intruder, an unsuspecting Peter who was humming so softly that Bunny barely picked up the tune with his sensitive ears. Once he noticed all of the eyes set on him, the boy nearly tripped over his own two feet. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself and not fall on top of the rack that had trays of food on them.

"The kitchens only had oatmeal on the stove, Lady Nature. I brewed a pot of tea as well, if it was alright."

Mother Nature smiled as Peter placed the silver domed trays onto the table, including one containing the uncovered tea set. "It is fine, my dear. Thank you."

"Is there anything else I could do, Lady Nature?" Peter said once he finished his task.

Emily Jane merely looked at him wistfully. "Have you eaten yet?"

The boy's scowl was adorable enough to make Bunny snort under his paw. "That I have no idea of, my Lady."

"Then eat," Emily Jane ordered, "You can come back as you wish afterwards and listen as we converse. However, you are free to your own devices."

With a nod, Peter wheeled the metal rack away, closing the door behind him.

As the group ate, conversation started once more, this time with Elisabeth starting, "So, how's Jack been with the Guardians?"

Tooth blinked her amethyst eyes in slight confusion. "Uhhh well, he's been spending time with us more lately. We've also been having monthly meetings ever since he's joined, and North gave him a room."

"Toothy!" North elbowed the fairy. "I have not given room yet! I thought I would give… in next meeting."

"You'll see him soon, don't worry!" William reassured; though, his face was full of doubt, "He's a strong one, and you've already tracked down one of the entrances to the depths of Helheim. That's better than last time."

"I suppose the bloke's right," Bunny agreed, "We've never had one of us kidnapped, is all."

"We just need to hope," Sarah told the Pookan, "and I know you're full of it. He might not make it out scratch free, but he _has_ to make it."

Sandy flashed an image above his head of two people conversing. " _How do you know him?"_

"Lady Nature? I don't understand what he's trying to say," Elisabeth pointed out.

"He is merely asking about how you know Jack," Mother Nature translated for her mute friend, "Feel free to answer."

William pursed his lips. "Well, Jack's mainly been our friend back when we all were human. All of us grew up in Hawthorne, which is now called Burgess, but he honestly has no idea that we are still alive. That, and he doesn't know his, er, true ancestry."

Before anyone could ask, Bedelia explained, "The Winds typically don't use their physical form, and they're paired up with each of the courts. Sarah's with my court while Elizabeth is with Autumn, and William is with Spring."

"What about Jack?" Tooth fidgeted slightly in her seat.

"Emma Overland, the North wind." This time, it was Erantha who spoke. "That is why we all are so worried and formed such a large search team. Not only is the Equinox approaching soon with the Winter Court out of balance, but now two of Lady Nature's and Lord Tsar Lunar's offspring are gone, along with the tomb that contains Holler."

"What are ya talking about?" Bunny interrogated, leaning on the table, "Why haven't none of y'all told us about this?"

Themis's eyes flashed with a hint of anxiety, face morphing into nonchalance. "We did not think it was a concern you should face."

"Whaddya mean a concern we shouldn't face?" Bunny slammed a fist on the mahogany table, slightly rattling the dishes set on top. "He's one of us, and he tied us up together! Sure he'd been hiding so many secrets, but we care about him. Who the bloody hell is Holler, and why does Frostbite have anything to do with the bloke?!"

"Chill Rabbit," Bedelia tried to calm him down, but the hand in his fist made him angrier.

"And you!" Bunny pulled his hand away from hers. "You keep acting as if I'm an ankle bittah' when I'm not! Stop messing around and at least pretend to care about this!"

Sarah immediately rushed in the quarrel, Bedelia biting back her retort, "I'm sorry that nobody's fully explained to you about how large this issue is, so I will to the best of my ability.

"When my mother, Lady Anemone, Lady Nature and Lord Tsar Lunar XII attempted to seal Holler, the God of Destruction and Hel's husband, a prophecy was made. The gist of it was that this chosen one's blood will have to be spilled onto the stone in order to release him. My mother went to check on the tomb, as she does monthly, only to see it missing a few days prior to Jack's kidnapping.

"Thing is, the chosen one is the child of Lady Nature and Lord Tsar Lunar. Hel must've speculated that Jack was the chosen one out of sheer luck, but she has no evidence to test her theory."

"Is she right?" Tooth asked.

Anemone's brown eyes locked with Themis's blue ones and Mother Nature's green ones. After a moment, Themis nodded, and Mother Nature answered, "She is."

"Wait, doesn't that mean—"

Emily Jane finished Bunny off, "Jackson Overland Frost is my son."

* * *

 **...Yes, I spent this entire time writing only 2,600 something words. Worse yet, I did this all in 3 days I think? See, it's my procrastination that's the problem! I'll skip my usual "my writing sucks" rant and just wrap this up.**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**

 **William Fauna**

 **Elisabeth Fauna**

 **Sarah Nartha**


	18. Chapter 16

**Guess who's late for an update! I had the most eventful month, so I actually have an excuse. Anyway, just know that I now have a reminder to update every other week :P Nowwww, response to the Guest reviews:**

 **Guest: Haha, thanks! As for updating soon, let's just say I have a HORRIBLE update schedule.**

 **Now, I just sent this to my beta, so this is NOT betaread. And Btw, if anyone of y'all need a beta, I gotcha *wink*.**

* * *

(Mother Nature's Palace)

Bunny walked mindlessly as they all took a tour through Emily Jane's gardens, the others soaking in the beauty from the plethora of colors. He, however, could not help but think of Jack, Jack, _Jack._

Jack Frost: Guardian of Fun, Sovereign of Winter, Seasonal Council member…

…and _**son of Tsar Lunar and Mother Nature**_ _._

Jack, innocent and naive Jack, was part of an intricate plan of destruction that he didn't even know about. He was the target of a sadistic queen of the Norse Underworld and so many others. He was the general of a war which had slaughtered at least a fourth of the Summer Court. He was a part of a council that he's been a member of for over a millennia!

Just how little did Bunny know about their newest team member?

"Rabbit? We're about to leave without you!"

The Pooka blinked his eyes harshly, escaping from the stupor he was in earlier. Running, or at least hopping, he tried to catch up to the group near the mouth of a tunnel made of grassy hedges. "Don't move yer arses anywhere!"

Bedelia snickered when he tripped, falling flat on his face. "Oh, we won't."

"Bedelia!" Erantha scolded.

Bunny, rubbing his nose, stood up and grumbled, "Shut it, Hot head."

"Ooh, I have a nickname!" Bedelia teased, "Although, it's not very creative. Hot head? Seriously? Frosty always calls me that."

"Adrestia calls Jack "Frosty", Bedelia," Ashun retorted as he strolled past them, "Thus, your point is not very valid."

"I would enjoy the show if I were you!" Sarah elbowed Bedelia. "Come on, we've been stressed out too much."

Bedelia looked at the South Wind with a glint of concern in her eyes as a ginger eyebrow went up. "More like you. Shouldn't you have already transitioned to your Incorporeal form like the Fauna siblings?"

"Incorporeal form?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah, all the winds have an intangible form that we typically travel in," Sarah explained as she picked a flower from a blooming plant, "It's just less taxing on the body. William and Elizabeth are already in their other form."

"Go in it, now!" Bedelia ordered.

The South Wind shrugged, yet her eyes flashed with anything but nonchalance. "Fine then. It was nice meeting you, Bunnymund."

A sudden rush of green leaves whirled around Sarah's spot before she vanished.

"That quick?" Bunny looked at the Summer Sovereign as if she held all the answers.

Bedelia nodded. "Yep, and before you get dumbstruck again, let's get the hell out of this tunnel. Everyone else left."

Sure enough, Bunny saw that they were the only two that were in the area. Sighing, he went to the other end and froze at the sight that met him.

Branching off of the white stone trail shimmering with specks of diamond were swirls of white snowdrops over a sea of deep blue nemesia. These swirls soon curled up together in a circle where a gazebo stood, the entire structure, except for the wooden floor, made from white slate. Adorning the pillars that held the heavy roof of the house-like patio were vines of winter jasmine, the light yellow blossoms reminding Bunny of the winter sun. Inside were at least twelve seats, a set of blue and a set of white, all surrounding a large table.

Although, Bunny wouldn't have expected a winter utopia to be in Mother Nature's gardens.

"This was not originally here when I adopted the palace from Physis," Emily Jane stated as she went up the stairs that led to the platform, "I built this in tribute for Jack."

"It's beautiful," Tooth cooed as she fluttered towards one of the pillars, cupping a blossom in her hands.

The Pooka merely crossed his arms. "Does Frostbite even know this exists?"

"Yes he does, Bunnymund," Yuki replied, sighing with her eyes closed, "This is his sanctuary during the Seasonal Transition."

"Did not think Jack liked flowers," North said as everyone took a seat at the table.

"It is not the beauty of the flowers nor the infrastructure that entices him," Yuki commented, "It is the beauty of nature."

"What are ya yapping about?" Bunny questioned.

"Stay silent, Bunnymund, and you shall see."

They all fell into silence.

The Pooka tried to find this beauty, but decided to just relax when he couldn't. That was when he felt it.

He heard the gentle blow of the wind rustling through the flowers, the soft twittering of birds, the plip plop of a rushing stream hidden somewhere. Nevertheless, what captivated him were the rolls of soothing power radiating off from the flowers, the trees holding blooming magnolia and plum blossoms.

It reminded him of the Warren's inner beauty that few ever saw.

Still, today even North could feel the relaxing effects of nature. No wonder this place was Jack's, it was a calming oasis.

"I thought we needed a break today." Even though it was a whisper, Mother Nature had managed to disrupt the tranquility. "There has been too much going on for all of us."

"We still need to find Ou-sama," Yuki shot back, "There are only twelve days before the transition. If we do not find him—"

"I know much more than you about what happens if we do not, Yuki Onna. We cannot just destroy ourselves and become the victim as well."

Erantha opened her eyes, her hazel irises glowing slightly. "Mother, both you and Yuki Onna are correct. We need to find Jack quickly, but we need to care for ourselves as well."

Ashun pursed his lips. "What state do you suspect we'll find them in?"

"That, none of us except Sabrina knows," Themis interjected, "However, let us all build up on our energy so we could leave unharmed."

"Do we not need training?" North asked loudly, finally breaking whatever peace was left.

"That's actually not half bad!" Bedelia agreed, "We could always train at Summer's Fortress."

Bunny's stomach fell at the idea. "No, the Warren's much better."

"My Tooth Palace has a lot of open air!" Tooth suggested.

"There is few places for battling on ground, Toothy," North argued, "Pole has training room!"

"So does my temple!" Anemone countered.

"Since when has this become a boasting contest?" Themis shook her head. "Why do we not all train here if you would like to train? Is there not a clear field for us to use, Emily Jane?"

"There is; nevertheless, I prefer we all do not train," Mother Nature continued when she received stares from everyone, "By training, we use up time that we could spend planning out our routes. Also, any one of you may get incapacitated from dueling, so I suggest we all try to conserve our energy for the battles to come."

"Right, but what we do now?" North asked.

"Meditate."

* * *

(Burgess, Pennsylvania)

Thanks to Jamie and Sophie's forest adventure while their live-in nanny was sleeping, the two of them were grounded until their mother came back later in the month. Jamie would've tricked the other housekeeping nanny that came on the weekends, but apparently she also got the memo and refused to let them go outside.

At least he had his phone, Jamie supposed.

He itched to text Monty or the twins or even the girls, but he was stuck in a tea party with Sophie, wearing a fluffy, blue shawl and a wreath of flowers on his head. Sitting next to him were his gray bunny doll and Sophie's plush Princess Celestia, its mane a wave of blue and pink hair. Sophie was on the other side of the circular, nothing but purple and pink table set, her giggles unceasing as her pink shawl and silver tiara made her feel like a princess.

"Would you like some tea, Princess Celestia and Easter Bunny?" Sophie asked her dolls.

Jamie rolled his eyes as he held Princess Celestia and said in a squeaky voice, "I want some, Princess Sophie!"

"Here you go, Princess Celestia!" Sophie poured imaginary tea from the teapot into the small teacup in front of the doll. "Hope you enjoy!"

Just then, Jamie's phone started buzzing with text messages.

"Who is it?" Sophie asked as she set down her teapot.

Jamie took out his android and scrolled through his phone's notifications. "Oh, it's Monty on our group chat."

"Can I see? Can I see?" Sophie chanted, her wild head of hair bobbing.

Jamie nodded his head, the two of them now laying down on Sophie's bed in order to share the phone.

 _Monty: I'm bored out of my mind!_

 _Jamie: Same here! Sophie and I are texting through my phone._

 _Jamie: Sophie— HIIIIII!_

 _Monty: *laughs* That's sweet of you, Jamie._

 _Jamie: Yeah, you know me! Are you grounded too?_

 _Monty: Yep, and the twins won't stop teasing me about it._

 _*Pippa Overland is online*_

 _Pippa: What's this I hear about twins?_

 _Jamie: Pip!_

 _Jamie: Sophie— YAY! HIIIII!_

 _Pippa: Aw, hey there Jamie and Sophie. Also, what pair of twins are you even talking about, Monty?_

 _Monty: Kyle and Leora, who else? They keep teasing me before they go outside somewhere._

 _Pippa: Ugh, that sucks._

 _Jamie: Though, they weren't the ones who saw a whole bunch of spirits._

 _Monty: Oh yeah! That's why I texted you, Jamie!_

 _Pippa: Is this another conspiracy theory?_

 _*Cupcake is online*_

 _Cupcake: Why the heck is my phone blowing up?!_

 _Jamie: Sophie— YAY MORE PPL!_

 _Jamie: Hey there, Cupcake._

 _Cupcake: Hi. Could you guys try to go on another private chat? I'm at church rn, and everyone's staring at me cuz my phone keeps buzzing._

 _Jamie: Oh right, I forgot your parents were religious Catholics. Sorry Cupcake._

 _Cupcake: It's fine. Anyway, aren't you guys supposed to be at some sort of sermon? It's Sunday, and Easter's coming up._

 _Pippa: Oh, I just left church because my service finished at 2 pm. I'm in the car, actually._

 _Monty: Don't forget that none of mine or Jamie's parents are religious._

 _Jamie: Oh, and we're grounded too._

 _Cupcake: You know what, I'm just going to put my phone on Do Not Disturb mode. Bye now._

 _Jamie: Sophie— No! Don't go!_

 _*Cupcake is offline*_

 _Jamie: Sophie— NOOOOOO!_

 _Pippa: Oh Sophie, it's fine. Cupcake will return later._

 _Jamie: Sophie— But I wanna play unicorns_

 _*Caleb Dawson is online*_

 _*Claude Dawson is online*_

 _Claude: What'd we miss?_

 _Caleb: Ignore my idiot brother._

 _Claude: Hey, who you calling an idiot!_

 _Pippa: *sigh* Don't start._

 _Claude: SHOOT! I just got caught! Gtg._

 _*Claude Dawson is offline*_

 _Caleb: Haha! Wait, don't take away my phone mom!_

 _*Caleb Dawson is offline*_

 _Pippa: Phew, those two are gone. Good._

 _Jamie: I'd delete that if I were you._

 _Pippa: Neh, I'd rather not. Let them know that they're chasing the wrong gal, right?_

 _Jamie: Wait, what?_

 _Pippa: Yeah, apparently they want me to date one of them, so they keep fighting over me as if I'm a toy._

 _Jamie: Ewwwwww, we're only 12!_

 _Pippa: Exactly! But noooo, everyone else in our grade starts dating now –.–_

 _Monty: I just set my phone down for one minute, and all this happened?_

 _Jamie: This is why we can't have nice things._

 _Pippa: NOT THAT MEME!_

 _Jamie: Yes! C'mon Monty, join me!_

 _Monty: Uh, no._

 _Pippa: Thank you._

 _Jamie: Aww, I thought you were my best friend :(_

 _Monty: I am, but still no. Anyway, I wanted to talk to Jamie about our theory on Friday._

Sophie looked at Jamie. "Theory?"

"Uh yeah, it'll probably be explained sooner or later," Jamie replied before they both went back into the text message stream.

 _Pippa: You mean when we had a snowball fight with all those spirits?_

 _Monty: Yep!_

 _Pippa: *rolls eyes* Of course Jamie would make a conspiracy theory. What is it?_

 _Jamie: I didn't make it! It was Monty!_

 _Pippa: Sure it was._

 _Monty: He's actually right._

 _Pippa Oh, well then. I might actually believe it._

 _Jamie: Why wouldn't you believe me? I was right about the Guardians existing *pouts*_

 _Pippa: But not Bigfoot._

 _Jamie: Hey! He signed my book after we saved the Guardians!_

 _Pippa: You sure it wasn't one of those Yetis we saw in the battle that signed it?_

 _Jamie: …_

 _Monty: —.— Guys, enough is enough. I wanted to talk to Jamie about Friday._

 _Pippa: Can't you guys at least tell me what the theory is?_

 _Jamie: Monty thinks that Mother Nature is mine and Sophie's mom while Themis is his mom._

"What?!" Sophie exclaimed before squealing, "Mommy's a spirit! Mommy's a—"

Jamie quickly placed a finger on his sister's lips. "Shhh Soph, Miranda will hear."

"Sorry Jamie," Sophie apologized.

"It's fine." When Jamie went to check his phone, he was surprised by the oncoming texts.

 _Pippa: O.o That's the most flabbergasted theory ever._

 _Monty: Really? Isn't it suspicious that Themis looks like my mom, and Mother Nature sounds like Mrs. Bennett?_

 _Pippa: So? It's not like nobody else could look or sound similar to them._

 _Monty: There's also the fact that my mom and Jamie's mom were gone for awhile, and they were supposed to come back on Thursday._

 _Pippa: Maybe they were just delayed._

 _Monty: Family business does NOT last for over a week._

 _Pippa: We were gone for over two weeks when my grandma died! And we only went to Philadelphia -.- Yours went to Germany._

 _Monty: Still, I've never heard my mom ever talk about her sister before she got that surgery last week. Is that not suspicious?_

 _Pippa: No, maybe you just weren't around whenever she talked to her._

 _Monty: Whenever Mrs. Bennett and my mom are gone for their business trip quarterly, they go to Germany. Wouldn't she have mentioned being with my aunt at least once?_

 _Pippa: Maybe they don't keep in contact much?_

 _Monty: My mom would never do that!_

"We need to stop them!" Sophie stated as she read the phone.

"Yeah."

 _Jamie: Guys, let's just stop arguing. Pippa, just say we're hypothetically correct. Wouldn't that solve some weird behaviors?_

 _Pippa: Yeah, you're right. It'd probably explain how secretive your parents are. It makes little sense to have a stay at home job when you have a good business across the seas, especially considering your mom is a business manager._

 _Jamie: Exactly._

 _Pippa: Still, there's a large possibility that we're over thinking things. I mean, Mrs. Bennett would need all the money she could get because of taxes and the like. She's a single mom with no other living family members._

 _Jamie: -.- We have a stay at home nanny that's getting paid a good deal amount of cash. We wouldn't need Miranda here if Mom just took us with her._

 _Pippa: You have school!_

 _Jamie: I can do it on the trip?_

 _Monty: Jamie, it costs a lot for multiple people to go on a trip._

 _Jamie: Fair point._

 _Pippa: Uh guys, I gtg. We finally got home._

 _Monty: Bye then, Pippa!_

 _Jamie: Bye Pip!_

 _*Pippa Overland is offline*_

 _Monty: So, the theory?_

 _Jamie: I believe in it wholeheartedly, but we honestly need a way to get Jack back. I miss him._

 _Monty: Of course, he's like a big brother to you._

 _Jamie: Exactly, and the theory just keeps reminding me of him._

 _Monty: Oh…do you want to stop talking about it then?_

 _Jamie: Yeah, I would like to._

"Jamie! Sophie! Lunch time!"

Jamie glanced at the door before responding, "Can I bring my phone?"

"No, Jamie Bennett! Come down now!"

"Sophie, go ahead. I'll be right there," Jamie said.

"Okay!" Sophie rose off her bed and headed off downstairs, completely forgetting about the mess of pots and dolls on her tea table.

 _Jamie: I have to go now, Monty. Miranda called us for lunch, and she won't let me take my phone._

 _Monty: Aww, bye Jamie!_

 _Jamie: Bye!_

Jamie shut off his phone and left it on the bed before running downstairs.

* * *

 **A filler to explain some things while bringing up more questions! Yes, I know I'm evil hehehe. Now, I'm just in a dead mood, so short ANs today! Remember to Read, Follow, Favorite and ESPECIALLY review. Those actually remind me of the fact that I have a boatload of readers for this poor excuse of a fanfic xD**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

Mother Nature (GoC character with OCAdrestia

Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)

Anemone

Themis

Hel

Holler

Yuki-Onna

Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)

Bedelia Doiteain

Erantha Vrochì

Ashun L'automne

Nefra/Ma'at

Ciara/Adrestia

Sabrina Hallows

Acheron

Morana

Gwenith

Old Man Winter

Beira

Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)

Yas

Gwendolyn

Loki/Dark Lord

William Fauna

Elisabeth Fauna

Sarah Nartha


	19. Chapter 17

**Is it bad that I took 4 months to finally update? Yikes, I'm a horrible person lol. Although, I do have to say this:**

 **I will be try updating Restoring Balance every other Saturday, and I will update one of my other fanfics (so far Winter and Spring in Harmony (WaSiH) and Secrets of Jack Frost (SoJF)) the Saturday that I don't update Restoring Balance.**

 **Basically, this is my tentative schedule:**

 **Dec 15— Restoring Balance**

 **Dec 22— WaSiH or SoJF (Probably Secrets of Jack Frost)**

 **Dec 29— Restoring Balance**

 **Jan 5— WaSiH (if I update SoJF on Dec 22)**

 **This is something new I'm going to try, so pleaseeeee tell me if you see that I don't follow it. I've realized that I have too many readers on here, Wattpad (well not really there xD) and AO3 to slack off on updates. Though, I'm so busy IRL that I dunno how long this'll last.**

 **Heads up, there is torture in this chapter! **

* * *

(Nightmare)

 _My connection to the world was gone. I couldn't hear the whistle of the wind, couldn't taste the bile crawling up my throat, couldn't smell the blood coating my body, couldn't feel the sword in my grip, couldn't see the battle scene I was in before._

 _I was sucked into a black abyss._

 _Of course, I knew that it was Jokül's doing as this always happened whenever Jokül tried to forcefully control my body. That's why he barely did it, so that I wouldn't face the agony of nothingness._

 _Still, here I am._

 _At the same time, I couldn't blame him. I refused to kill Blaze, even though it'd been the easiest way to win the war. I refused to let Jokül gain control, even though it'd been the easiest way to forget this gruesome war. I refused to listen to anyone else, even though it'd been the easiest way to keep my sanity._

 _Although, the crushing darkness didn't help me any._

 _I felt so disconnected, as if I was being compressed into a small box. It was impossible to tell how long I've been here. It could've been seconds, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, centuries, and I wouldn't even know._

 _That was when my senses came back._

 _My sense of smell came first, smelling the scent of winter's ending days and melting snow. My sense of hearing came second, hearing the crack of broken ice and a little girl screaming my name. My sense of taste came third, tasting the taste of burning water seeping into my lungs. My sense of touch came fourth, feeling the slippery texture of water rushing through my hands._

 _My sense of sight came last, and I saw the moon, its light consuming me._

 _I submitted to the light, knowing I'll be going back into the world. However, what happened while I was gone?_

* * *

(Hel's Catacombs)

When Jack opened his eyes, he was surprised to see a brown haired woman shaking him awake. She wore a white, fluffy coat over a brown, ankle low, colonial style dress, her brown orbs twinkling in worry.

She seemed familiar, but he didn't know why.

"Um, who are you?"

The woman gave him a deadpan stare as she crossed her arms. "Seriously Jackson Overland Frost? I know I may look slightly different, but I thought you'd at least recognize your own sister."

He froze and blinked before croaking out, "Flee?"

A smile crept on her face, her features softening. "The one and only."

Tears welled into his eyes as he leapt at her, hugging her to death. "I can't believe it, I thought you died!" Then, a rush of questions came out of his mouth, "How did you become a spirit? Did you die? You look like your in your late twenties, if you died—"

"Shh, Jack." Her finger touched his lips. "I was chosen by Anemone to become one of the Heralds of the Winds, the North Wind. Sarah, William and Elizabeth are the others."

"What?!" Jack looked at Flee, "Why didn't you say anything?"

The woman sighed. "We all had to swear that we'd tell you nothing, Jack. It was so hard to see you so confused about yourself and so alone."

At her last words, Jack's eyes widened. "So, you saw everything? From the marriage to the war?"

Her sad nod answered him. "Yes, except for your years with Hel." She then said, "Still, that isn't our main concern."

"What do you mean?" Jack questioned.

"They don't know Emma's your sister," Nefra chimed in, the siblings both peering at her, "Hel only took her because you must've admitted you were friends with the North Wind."

"That's why my identity was to be kept secret," Flee added, "You might have tipped them off that I was your sister, and they would have tortured me as well to see if our parents were Mother Nature and Manny."

"Are they our parents?"

She closed her eyes, sighing. "Yes, and yes, you're the Chosen One."

Another thought dawned upon him. "So, I'm the catalyst for the world's end?"

"Yes, and before you try to kill yourself or something, the burden will just pass down to the next baby that'll be born from our parents."

"Oh…"

"Don't feel bad about it, Jack," Flee said, "We'll figure out how to solve all of this."

"How? We're literally stuck in our enemy's dungeon!"

"I'd shut up if I were you," Ciara interjected, "I can hear them coming."

As if on cue, the door above them slowly creaked open. However, instead of their tormentors, it was just Sabrina carrying her green med bag.

"Jack, you finally woke up!" Sabrina exclaimed as she dashed to him, "Are you still aching?"

"Huh?" Jack asked as Sabrina inspected his arm, "Uh, no. Why would I be?"

"Frosty, you literally came in here covered in shrapnel," Clara remarked, "Although, Loki was peeved because that bitch was more injured than you. All I have to say is thanks for that."

"You're actually thanking me?" Jack laughed softly when the Halloween spirit pulled up his shirt, but he quieted down when he remembered something, "Wait Ciara, is you father Loki?"

"Duh Frosty," the black haired woman responded, "Hel's my half sister, so of course Loki's my dad."

"Sorry that I didn't know, sheesh." Jack yelped when Sabrina took out a small piece of metal from his leg.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Sabrina apologized, immediately applying some sort of herbal balm on the wound.

Jack winced as the medicine burned slightly before cooling down. "It's fine, thanks for treating me."

"No problem, Jack," Sabrina said before pulling out another piece of metal, "However, I cannot stay for long. Mother and Grandfather are coming soon."

"Shit," Ciara cursed, "Which bitch is coming first?"

"Ciara, don't curse them out. They are your family as much as they are mine," the Halloween spirit scolded before finishing up her job, "There Jack, I hope I have removed every bit of shrapnel in your skin."

"Thanks Sabrina." Jack helped her pack up her med bag. "Still, who are they going to take?"

"You and Emma," Sabrina answered as she swung the bag over her shoulder, "However, nothing will happen if you don't admit your bloodline. I wish you the best of luck."

Just as she opened the door, Hel stood on the other side. "Help me knock the two out."

* * *

Even though Jack barely could see anything because of the lack of light, he could feel bands of leather tying him up to what seemed like a wooden chair. As a result, he was scared for what was in store, yet he couldn't help but wonder:

Why a chair?

While a chair can get people in uncomfortable positions, it didn't exactly allow the type of torture Hel enjoyed. Actually, he could be dunked into water with a chair.

Still, there was the fact that Emma was taken as well. Though this time, she couldn't flee out of the situation like her nickname suggested.

"Flee, are you there?" Jack yelled out as he peered through the inky darkness for his sister.

Remembering his light trick earlier, Jack tried to do it by himself to no prevail. Guess he did need Jokül's help.

' _Jokül, I needed you right now…'_

It took a second, but he got a response. ' _ **What is Ungr Vetr? I am trying to rest.'**_

' _You can sleep inside me? How?'_

' _ **Does it matter? Did you summon me just to ask that?'**_

' _Obviously not, I just wanted to do that glowy thing I did in the box.'_

' _ **You mean the light infusion? I need to consult Nightlight, he is the one who controls your moonlight magic.'**_

' _Ohhh okay, just hurry up. I need it right now.'_

' _ **Because of your fear of the dark? I know, Ungr Vetr, it is alright to admit it.'**_

Jack pouted. ' _Hey, I'll have you know I just needed to see where I was!'_

' _ **Sure, but I need to go right now.'**_

' _Okay.'_

Jack looked around once more before repeating, "Flee?!"

This time, a muffled sound answered him. He must've been to occupied with Jokül to have noticed earlier.

"Where are you?"

Flee just gave him a low, unimpressed sigh. He wanted to facepalm too, of course she couldn't respond!

"Wait, hang on for a second." With that, Jack delved back into his mind.

' _Jokül!'_

' _ **Ungr Vetr, be patient**_ _.'_ The past deity barked back.

' _When will you light up the place?'_

Jokül sighed. ' _ **Fine, grip onto a part of the chair.'**_

Jack felt around him till he found a wooden column connecting the back of the chair to the seat and immediately grasped it.

' _ **Ready?'**_

' _Mhmm, I'm okay.'_

' _ **Brace yourself, this will take more of your reserves as your power has been draining lately.'**_

' _I don't care, just get on with it.'_

' _ **Alright, but I warned you.'**_

Jack yelped when a torrent of icy cold energy flowed from his heart to the tips of his fingers. However, the pain was worth it, for now the room was illuminated.

At the same time, he secretly wished it wasn't.

Flee was directly in front of him, but she was strapped onto a vertical plank of wood, her hands and feet tied together at the top and bottom with course rope. The rest of the rope winded around two cranks that were next to both pairs of appendages.

Once the shock of seeing her on the Rack passed, he glared at Hel and Loki, who were on either sides of her.

"Hello Frost, it was very kind of you to embrace us with you wonderful light show once more," Loki taunted, obviously still sour about the incident last time.

Jack smirked slightly when he fully digested just how disheveled the God got because of him. Whatever skin on his arms and legs that wasn't covered by his cloak was peppered with cuts and the occasional bruise. His face held only one large gash, starting from the right side of his mouth to the tip of his browline. Still, he looked _awful,_ and Jack almost had the urge to pity the man.

Almost.

"What are you grinning about, Frost?!"

His eyes flickered to Hel, smile nearly dropping. Her imposing scowl wrapped a snake of fear around him, the emotion suffocating him. However, he shoved his nervousness aside and raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think my opinion mattered that much to you, Death," Jack answered as he innocently batted his lashes.

Hel's scowl only deepened. "And I didn't think my sense of fear would flare up that much, Jack." Hel smirked. "Forgot I still sense fears, have we Jack? I may not decipher it as Pitch does, but do remember who his master is."

Jack glowered. "Trust me, I won't. Now, why am I here?"

"Tsk, impatient are we?" This time it was Loki who commented. "Be lucky my daughter disagreed with my first plan."

The wintry teen blinked when he heard Hel sigh. "I discussed this already, Father, we cannot physically harm him in any way yet."

 _Yet?_

"Still, I say he'd be much more interesting than his galling friend," Loki complained, jestering to the women beside him.

His eyes widened as he stared at his sister. "Don't tell what I think you're going to do."

Hel chuckled amusedly. "Of course we're going to torture her. Otherwise, why have her strapped on the Rack?"

"Why?"

Hel smirked, stepping close enough to lift his chin up to meet her eyes. "Why we always have. Tell me who your parents are, and not some nickname for them."

"How would you know if I'm even lying?"

"Your fears," the Goddess simply stated before going beside a rusted crank, "If you do not say anything, I have no choice but to harm your friend."

Following his daughter, Loki gripped the crank on his side, squatting low to reach it. "I suggested to bring Khione in here to rape you, so be glad this is the alternative."

 _Was that his first plan?_

"Father, I told you how traumatized he was last time!" Hel huffed. "I had to give a dose of dreamsand so his lips were not sealed shut in fear. Too much effort could lead to him turning insane, which we want to avoid."

"I still say you are merely jealous at the strong hold she has on him," the Dark Lord jested, "Now, pull that blasted crank of yours."

"Let me get the gag off first!"

Jack's eyes still didn't leave Flee's as their captors continued bickering, his showing conflict as hers glittered with determination. _Do not dare say anything!_

Once the cloth fell, his sister revealed her determination with her voice, "Don't let them break you!"

Before Jack could reply, a surprised, shattering scream rang throughout the room.

Once slightly loose, the ropes suddenly became taunt as they yanked Flee's limbs away from her. As they pulled even more, droplets of blood began falling onto the ground. However, the rivulets of red weren't pouring from her stretched out arms or legs, but mysteriously from behind. Nevertheless, after the first yelp, Emma cried no more for the sake of her brother.

As for said brother, once he realized that there were small, sharp spikes ripping through her back, his struggling increased. Jack tried breaking his bonds, tried holding back the wails that shook his frame, but he couldn't. Slowly, he succumbed to the fact that he couldn't save his sister without breaking his promise like last time.

Glancing at Flee's quaking body as she tried to suppress the pain, Jack steeled himself.

"Stop, I'll tell you! I'll give you the honest truth!" he barked out.

Hel smirked, jestering at her father to stop. "Alright, now tell us."

Before he could say anything, Emma interjected, "Jack, I will kill you if you—"

Loki aggressively stuffed a cloth in her mouth, snarling as the woman glared, "We do not have time to deal with your pestering. In fact, I have no qualms of removing your tongue this instant if I must!"

"Woah Loki, my lips will be 'sealed in fear' if you do that!" Jack quoted Hel from earlier, "You want to know my parents names, right Death?"

"You know what I am asking for."

Just as he was about to tell them, Jökul's voice flooded his mind. ' _ **Ungr Vetr, are you sure this is the smartest idea?'**_

Jack rolled his eyes. ' _No, but what else could I do? I can't let Em get hurt because of me.'_

' _ **Everyone will be injured if you say anything.'**_ His mentor sighed. ' _ **The only reason why they are refraining from killing any of them is because of you.'**_

It was clear that Hel was starting to grow frustrated at his silence. "Frost, say something before I go back to torturing your friend."

"Okay, wait! I'm trying to remember their actual names."

He delved back into his conversation with Jökul. ' _I can't think of the future right now. I'm sorry.'_

"Remember now, Frost?" Loki questioned him.

"Not quite!"

" _Jökul, please don't leave me if I tell them.'_

' _ **Of course I would not, I just thought the conversation was over.'**_

' _What?'_

' _ **Ungr Vetr, it is quite obvious you want to give in, and you only listen to yourself. Go ahead and tell them, but do not come to me weeping like an infant.'**_

' _I'm sorry, Jökul.'_

' _ **Tell them, unless you want to listen to what I say for once.'**_

Hel huffed, both going back to their cranks. "It appears we need to get back to serious methods to get you to remember."

"Wait, please!"

"Frost, it is quite clear you are merely stalling," Loki blankly stated.

Jack sighed before whispering, "Fine, my parents are Mother Nature and Tsar Lunar XII."

Hel stepped up to him, tilting his chin up. "What?"

"You heard me," Jack snapped loudly.

"I suppose you do not understand. Tell me louder!"

"Alright!" The tears within his eyes finally ran down his face. "My parents are Mother Nature and Tsar Lunar XII!"

Jack continued to sob as Hell released him from his bonds, a freed Emma staring at him sadly as a pair of chains snapped onto her wrists.

* * *

 **Is it obvious that I forced myself to wrote this chapter? I really dunno why it was such a pain to write, I planned to do this chapter for at least a year...**

 **Anyway, I've seem to have come to a predicament. After chapters 9 and 11, I dunno if my fanfic should have a rating of T or M. While it counts as minor adult themes, I have no clue if it's explicit enough for an M rating. That's why I'll be asking you guys! Leave me a review if you think that I should leave it rated as a T or actually bump it up to an M.**

 **List of OCs Mentioned So Far:**

 **Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)**

 **Anemone**

 **Themis**

 **Hel**

 **Holler**

 **Yuki-Onna**

 **Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Bedelia Doiteain**

 **Erantha Vrochì**

 **Ashun L'automne**

 **Nefra/Ma'at**

 **Ciara/Adrestia**

 **Sabrina Hallows**

 **Acheron**

 **Morana**

 **Gwenith**

 **Old Man Winter**

 **Beira**

 **Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)**

 **Yas**

 **Gwendolyn**

 **Loki/Dark Lord**

 **William Fauna**

 **Elisabeth Fauna**

 **Sarah Nartha**

 **Emma Flee Overland (RotG Character with OC traits)**


	20. Chapter 18

**I know, 1) I broke my promise of updates, 2) It's a Sunday. Whelp, I was so busy the past few months that I didn't even eat much, so there's that. Also, I had a VEX tournament from 6 am to 8 pm (including traveling), and thus I was hella exhausted Saturday. I mean, one of my teamates made me get a PTSD attack after a slew of derogatory statements all because they thought I screwed up something when I actually didn't -.- In the end, I fucking wanted to slap her or torture her Hel style...**

 **ANYWAY, Guest Review Responses!**

 **Demi Clayton: Aww, the compliment! I'm trying to update as much as I can, but IRL is so busy, that and staying active as a Curator on the RotG Amino. As for your idea with not harming Emma, where's the fun in that? *laughs* I already have a plan figured out, but you'd need to wait to see if I hurt Lil ol Em even more.**

* * *

 **(** Hel's Catacombs)

Jack stared at a dark, unoccupied corner of the cell, not heeding the worried glances casted his way. He knew they were chatting amongst themselves, but he couldn't find the strength to care.

After all, now Hel knew he was the Chosen One. Not only that, but he finally found the chance to decipher what Flee told him earlier.

This entire time, Mother Nature had been his mother, the woman who never saw him past Seasonal meetings and celebrations. This entire time, Man in the Moon had been his father, the man who never interacted with him past the day he rose from his lake. This entire time, the North Wind had been his little sister, the girl who never got comforted by him past the day he drowned.

He'd been disowned by the very people he thought loved him.

' _ **Ungr Vetr, it is nothing like that,'**_ Jökul interjected, arguing against his thoughts.

Jack snapped back, ' _What would you know, Jökul? You're the one who got abandoned by your wife!'_

' _ **That has nothing to do with—'**_

' _Oh really? Then how is love like, oh lover boy?'_ The wintry teen taunted.

' _ **ENOUGH!'**_

' _...'_

Jökul continued, ' _ **If you would listen for once, I was going to say that your family meant to protect you!'**_

' _From what?'_

' _ **Let me finish. If you knew when you rose, Hel would have found out who you were when she tortured you in the 1890s. If they were in contact with you more, then Hel would have been suspicious.'**_ Jökul explained.

' _But, the tomb was only found now. They would know when it was tampered with; Themis has control over it.'_

' _ **Yes, but that doesn't mean Hel wouldn't want to extract revenge on your parents through you. That's why the Winds never solidify; they are in as much danger as you.**_

Even with Jökul's explanation, there was something off. It was as if he knew something that he didn't, which honestly isn't surprising when he thought about it. Jökul _is_ his mentor after all.

' _How would you know?'_

' _ **Your parents told me so before I was transfused into your body."**_

' _What?!'_ Jack screamed before adding, ' _Lemme guess, they made sure you didn't tell me?'_

' _ **Part of my oath,'**_ Jökul nonchalantly answered, ' _ **They told me it was alright if I said so after you found out, so that you don't try and kill yourself.'**_

' _Why does everyone think that?!'_

' _ **Jack, you already died and tried committing suicide multiple times both in your past and present life. Before you start whining, I am officially signing off for the day.'**_

Jack huffed, just when he was getting answers!

He looked around the room, only to meet 4 pairs of eyes staring at him. "What?"

Ciara rolled her blue eyes. "Frosty, you were talking to yourself again."

Jack winced in embarrassment. "I was?"

"Yeah, you were mumbling really lowly," Nefra added, "What were you talking to Jökul about?"

"I wasn't—"

"Don't lie to us, Jack," Flee interjected with a deadpan expression adorning her face, "I can sense whenever you talk to him just like Khione. It's subtle, but it's obvious to those who can find it."

"I was talking to Jökul about recent events," Jack gave them a cursory explanation, "I was just pondering over some things."

"Like what?" Pitch questioned, the others agreeing with him.

The wintry teen huffed. "I've been swamped with a bunch of new info when, not even 2 years ago, I didn't know I had a family!"

Shocked by Jack's outburst, the other inmates scooted back, all except for Flee. "Well, I'm sorry about that Jack. We had to lie for your wellbeing."

"I get it!" Jack snapped, holding his fisted hands up, "I'm too irresponsible, too naïve, too open to actually keep a secret!"

"I wasn't the one who told Hel the second after I told you the truth!" his sister shot back.

Jack fumed, "I couldn't just let them rip out your limbs and tear up your back!"

Flee's anger deflated slightly, sorrow replacing it. "Jack, I'm normally not in my corporeal form."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, ears perked. He thought that—

"I'm vulnerable in this form," the wind spirit explained, "I typically don't materialize unless I have to. Khione…she forced me to since Queen Anemone is her half sister."

"Oh, but wouldn't you still be affected?"

"Not much," Flee answered, "I can regenerate my limbs in my incorporeal state. It helps that I have a good dollop of moonlight magic since I can heal faster."

Jack just sighed dejectedly; all his worrying for naught! "Well then, I guess I'll just get some rest."

Before anyone could stop him, he closed his eyes, letting his sorrow and guilt take over.

* * *

(Pitch's Lair)

Surrounded by the remains of once was the Boogeyman's lair, Sabrina anticipated for Yuki's arrival. It seemed that today the winter immortal was slightly late, something the Halloween spirit could not afford.

After all, she had some information she needed to discuss promptly.

Sure enough, the telltale signs of her arrival scattered through the area. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, and frost started crawling on the floor. Yuki only did this when she had a rough day in the Spirit Realm, but never so much.

This made Sabrina worried, not that Yuki's horrendous appearance hadn't.

Instead of her kimono, the temporary sovereign was in a swirling, navy blue dress, the interior an ice blue. The fabric itself, while still glittering, was covered in splotches of blood and multiple tears, yet Yuki herself didn't appear wounded at all.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked as the immortal tried to catch her breath.

"Court politics—I had to deal with some—executions before I came." Yuki explained as she paused to gain breath.

"Ahh," Sabrina commented, not knowing what else to say, "Well, I have acquired some details regarding what Mother and her allies will do when I spied their meeting. Not only that, I found out another from your court that is working with them."

"Is it Boreas?" Yuki stated.

Sabrina blinked a few times before responding, "Yes, how did you—?"

"Khione told me," Yuki elucidated, "I have no idea why; however, she said not to reveal who she was. I only did with you because I do not understand why she did so."

"Maybe she really is working for us?" Sabrina suggested, "Although, she seems just as interested as the others to keep Jack. In fact, Mother made a deal that Khione and Boreas could keep him after her purposes have been carried out."

"Guilt, I suppose." The Japanese woman took a deep breath. "What other information do you have?"

"Well, it seems Mother wants to raise Father from his tomb. They have realized that Jack's blood is essential in doing so, but they need to melt it first." Sabrina frowned in concern. "I do not like their methods, though."

Yuki closed her eyes before sighing. "What do they plan to do?"

"Their first idea was to boil him, but it would lead to him literally melting," Sabrina began listing off, "Another was to cut off a chunk of his flesh and melt the blood in that. The problem is that the effects of doing so are unknown."

"Is there anything they are going to do?" Yuki snapped, surprising Sabrina as it was out of her character.

That's when she realized that Jack might be Yuki's only friend.

"I think the plan is to keep him on a contraption that will act as a hot plate," Sabrina finally stated after a period of silence, "It will be over a fire that Mother will force me to create, but the metal will act as a mild barrier from completely killing him."

Sabrina saw the immortal gritting her test as she responded, "Is there anything you could do to prevent so?"

"Unfortunately, if I do, then Mother would grow suspicious," Sabrina continued when she saw Yuki's despairing face, "However, I will try to act as if I can't let loose anymore flames. It would keep Jack from being too uncomfortable."

"Alright, is the meeting adjourned?"

"Why are you rushing today?" Yuki normally stayed past Sabrina's multiple attempts of bidding her off, so of course Sabrina would worry.

"I'm extremely exhausted," Yuki commented, "I had to deal with multiple malevolent spirits as well as an idiotic court today."

Sabrina pursed her lips as she turned to leave. "I understand, go ahead and leave."

However, Sabrina was talking to a vacant room, a small trail of frosted blood the only evidence of Yuki's presence.

* * *

 **Why is this incredibly short? Whelp, I thought I'd add on from what I wrote ye wonder, but I didn't. Yes, I could have updated on time if I didn't think about "adding" details that I never have. Meh, hate me all you want, I'm tired as heck.**

 **At this point, I'm just spamming the OC list, so I'll just add it when I actually have a new OC.**


	21. Chapter 19

**Ahh, my problems with updating have struck once again! I have no clue how long has it been since I last updated, but it must've been quite a while! I had a stellar month or two of depression and stress, so I'm extremely sorry for my lack of updates. Trust me, I'm really in the mood of finishing this too!**

* * *

(Flashback)

 _Yuki felt immense guilt for not visiting Ou-sama the instant they had arrived back to the Winter Palace. She was simply overwhelmed in the work she had to do with the surrendering of the Summer Court, especially since most of the time she was in charge of both hers and her Sovereign's duties. Still, her main duty was to care for her Sovereign, and currently, she failed to do so._

 _Sighing, Yuki hoped that she wasn't too late._

 _The woman traversed through the halls that were lit up by blue orbs of light ingrained in the walls and floors. Still clad in her bloodstained, light blue war cloak, Yuki held a silver tray of food. She had picked out Jack's favorite dishes, from his signature vanilla ice cream he created with Ma'at to the honey roasted beef he'd inhale during feasts. A platter of herbal mint tea sat along with the meal, complemented with a pile of milk biscuits in a white, ceramic dish._

 _Nevertheless, even as she softly hummed an old Japanese tune, her mind was still haunted by the dark glint in her charge's eyes when they arrived back to the palace._

 _Pausing for a moment, Yuki took in a deep breath, her eyes closed to cut off her tears. She really hoped she wasn't too late._

 _Although, the pit of guilt in her stomach didn't help her at all._

 _She continued to walk through the glowing halls, passing by delicate ice statues and magnificent paintings without a single glance. Yuki's face remained grim as Winter Generals passing by greeted her, all knowing where she was heading to._

 _What she did not expect was General Old Man Winter whispering in her ear, "Our Sovereign must be protected against himself."_

 _Shocked by the bearded man's message, Yuki's pace increased, her dancing walk becoming a fast stroll._

 _In her speed, she nearly skipped the ice door marked with Jack's emblem, a crown embellished with swirling frost patterns underneath acting as a pillow. Once she saw the sign, Yuki paused at the door and calmed her racing heart. Of everything, he shouldn't see her panic._

 _Typing away on the lavish keypad for the security alarms, as Gwendolyn called them, Yuki kept the tray from spilling its contents. After what seemed like forever, the device let out a quiet beep before the glowing, green outline of the engraved emblem in the door washed out, replaced with its original silver color._

 _Opening the door, Yuki froze._

 _The typically pristine room was a mess: papers scattered around and mixing with the shards of glass and ice littering the floor of the palace-like room. The soft, baby blue blanket that decorated the king bed was a crumpled pile on the floor, revealing the white comforter holding the cotton duvet. Scratches covered the walls of ice surrounding the pentagonal room, the white plush chair at the back of the room spilling out its fluffy contents from its large tear._

 _Standing in the center of the storm, his backside facing her, was her Sovereign, the hood to his navy blue war robes down. A pale hand clenched a fistful of snow-white hair as his katana was held above in a shaky grasp, about to swing down._

 _Yuki could do nothing as her vision flashed with the image of a teenage Japanese soldier kneeling on a stone ground, a stream of blood flowing from him as he used his own weapon against him. Yuki could do nothing but hear the thump of his head falling to the ground, the wails of a distressed mother filling the wooden tavern._

 _She couldn't fail her Sovereign as she did with her son._

 _She distinctly heard the crash of glassware, the clatter of the silver tray as blood rushed in her ears. She distinctly heard Jack yelping as he turned around in a swirl of blues and whites to see who had interrupted him, a hoarsely whispered "Yuki?" escaping his lips. She distinctly heard him whimper in fright as she stepped towards him, the boy stepping back._

 _However, her mind tossed away those sounds as she rushed up to him, entrapping her friend she looked upon as a son in her arms. She didn't care that he minutely froze in the embrace, didn't care that he dropped the katana and weakly hugged her back, didn't care about the tears that escaped from both of their sets of blue orbs._

 _All Yuki wanted was to protect him, protect him like the priceless gem he was._

* * *

(Mother Nature's Palace)

Yuki tried calming herself by inhaling the faint scent of fresh snow and winter flowers carried by an eternal zephyr. However, it only reminded her of the fact that she was in Ou-sama's Sanctuary without him, something that she was still highly displeased about.

 _You failed him like you did when he was imprisoned by Hel over a century ago._ Tremors of hatred shook her frame, yet she held her cup tightly. _You failed him like you did when he nearly bewedded Khione against his wishes. You failed him like you did when he fought against his own friend._

 _You failed as you did with your son._

 _Stop, stop, STOP!_ She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she fought against the onslaught of remarks. _I helped him through the pain—_

 _How would that be? All you've done is make it worse._ A soft gasp left her mouth. _You only know how to destroy, not mend._

A frozen teardrop fell into her cup, causing a foaming swirl of salt water to form within her lemon tea. _Even your tears destroy serenity._

She stared at her broken reflection in shame. _He's shown me so much, revolutionized my realm of sorrow into a realm of joy. Why can't I offer the same?_

"Yuki, do you have anything to say?"

Launching out of her stupor, the newly crowned Winter Sovereign caught herself from accidentally spilling her cup's contents over herself. Setting the porcelain parcel down, Yuki promptly responded, "I duly apologize, Lady Nature. May you explain again?"

"Of course." Lady Nature's concerned look didn't disappear from Yuki's head as she pushed the evidence Yuki collected towards her. "We were discussing the implications of Boreas's alliance with Hel. By any chance, has Sabrina told you any more troubling news?"

Yuki sighed. "Sabrina mentioned that Jack finally cracked and revealed his lineage."

"What?!"

Yuki saw Aster's eyes widen in surprise as he grabbed Lady Nature's arm in an attempt to calm her down. "Emily, relax, okay?"

She jerked her appendage out of his grasp and clutched her forehead. "He isn't supposed to know. How did he find out?"

"Maybe Emma leaked something to him," the Herald of the South Winds suggested, "Jack must've wondered why she looked so familiar."

"Plus, Emmy sucks at keeping secrets," the Herald of the West Winds added.

"Which leads to more chaos." Lady Nature tiredly sighed, clasping her hands on the table. "Yuki, when will Gwendolyn and Gwenith finish their devices?"

"In about a day or two," Yuki replied, "They have completed a majority of them, but they need supplies from the dwarves in Nidavellir. The journey will take no longer than two days."

"As for the attack?"

"It can occur any time we wish; however, we are reliant on those trackers. Including the time required to test them, the earliest we can infiltrate Helheim is the 15th," Yuki continued when she saw Lady Nature's scowl, "I hate it myself as well, my Lady. Gwendolyn said that they would have finished already if they had the synthesized orichalcum-silver alloy they needed from there. The warehouses we have access to have none as we speak."

"Wait, did you say orichalcum-silver alloy?" Aster asked, "How much do ya need?"

"Approximately 1 or 2 karats," Yuki answered back, "Why do you ask?"

Yuki was surprised when a grin formed on Aster's face, one so similar to Jack's. "I happen to have a stash of the metal to ward off evil spirits while I'm hiding my googies."

A moment of silence passed through as they all realized what he was willing to do.

"I-I do not know how to recompense you," Yuki finally said, "I was planning to go to the winter domain mineries that give us a share of their materials already. The economy within the Winter Court has declined significantly and will do so until Ou-sama regains his throne. Perhaps I could—"

"There's no need," Aster interjected, "Snowflake's one of my mates, and I'll help him if I have to go to the end of the world to do so. I don't need anything else either."

 _He chooses such incredible companions._ "Thank you."

"No problem, I'll take ya to the Warren after this meeting," Aster replied.

"I do not see why not now," Lady Nature suggested, "Yuki needs the materials promptly, and there is little else to discuss. You two can be dismissed early."

Aster rose from his seat after hearing her command, Yuki following suit. "Alright then."

With that, the Pooka and the winter immortal dropped down into a tunnel leading to the Warren.

* * *

(The Warren)

As Yuki sat on one of the roots of Aster's storage tree, she couldn't help but get lost in the beauty surrounding her.

The grass, so green and so soft, gave way to towering trees with roots as thick as her frame, leaves as dark as they can be, and vines as thin as frost. An assortment of flowers was sprinkled around, from red tulips to purple lilacs, the gentle breeze wafting their delicate smells throughout the area. Yuki could hear the rush of the dye river from afar as white eggs with stubby legs scampered past to reach its water.

She was so lost in its beauty that she allowed a trickle of joyful memories to escape from her barriers.

" _Jack, come out wherever you are!"_

 _She ran through the Burgess forest, looking through trees and flora alike. "Ou-sama, where are you?"_

 _Slowing down till her white kimono stopped swishing around, she rested her back against the rough bark of the closest tree. "We have to go to—"_

 _She paused when she heard a tinkling giggle and looked up in the branches._

" _Found you, you little rascal!"_

A tear glistens in her eye as she picked a bright pink primrose, cupping it gently. Soon, a light veil of frost swirled around its petals.

" _Hey Yukes, everything alright?"_

 _Instead of responding, she placed a small flower in his hands, its bright pink petals glittering in the street lamp's light. "Do you know what this is?"_

" _Uhh, a flower?" He replied._

" _Not just any flower, Ou-sama." She cupped his other hand over the blossom. "It is a cherry blossom from a Sakura tree."_

 _Noticing his confusion, she gestured with her head to the twinkling lights from afar._

" _Even as civilization develops, there are still remnants of the past."_

Yuki chuckled when she saw a turned over egg in front of her, its legs kicking in the air. She placed the squirming egg in her hand, setting the primrose down to snatch a paintbrush with a pallet full of colors.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of green eyes peered at her from behind the tree.

" _I believe this is not one of your grandest ideas…"_

 _He rolled his eyes as he tugged her along the underground tunnel. "Oh come on, the Kangaroo's too busy hiding eggs to care."_

" _Ou-sama, if he sees you have a Yuki Onna as your companion—"_

 _She paused when the passage gave way to a magnificent utopia. "Oh my!"_

 _A smirk grew on his face as he swung his staff._

" _May the tour through the Warren begin!"_

"Now that is a beaut!"

Yuki flinched when she heard the voice, dropping the egg before the pallet slipped from her grasp and spilled its paint on her kimono. She gasped when she saw the mess she created. "Aster, I profoundly apologize!"

"For what?" The Pookan frowned, catching her when she tripped over her own stained garments. "I was the one who startled you."

"I thought you would be cross with me for painting one of your eggs," Yuki responded, holding herself upright, "Aster, your fur is matted with ink!"

"It's fine, Yuki. Also, just call me Bunny. Any of Frostbite's friends are mine too."

"Of course, Ast—Bunny," the immortal corrected herself.

"As for being angry with ya," Bunny added, frowning, "Why would I ever be? The egg was gorgeous, Sheila!"

Yuki let loose a puff of air she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you."

"Now, I dunno about you," Bunny paused, holding his arms up exaggeratedly, "I think we both need a good rinse off. We both look as if a bloody rainbow threw up on us!"

Yuki, however, disagreed when she remembered why they were there, "Bunnymund, I need the alloy before I do so. We must deliver it to Gwendolyn promptly."

"Haven't cha thought about how messy you look?" Bunny countered, "I know that the Winter Court is a feisty bunch. If they see you covered in paint…they must already disrespect you for being a Yuki Onna."

A glimmer of pain sparked in Yuki's eyes, but she quickly smothered it in nonchalance while hoping he hadn't noticed. "Do not remind me, Aster."

Brows furrowing, the Pookan pursed his lips. "Fine, I'll just get you the bugger, and then we'll head to the pools to clean off. Deal?"

"Alright," Yuki reluctantly agreed, "First, where is the metal?"

Noticing Aster gesturing behind the tree, Yuki followed the Pookan. She was shocked when she saw the lumpy duffle bag, its coppery-gold contents spilling out. "I only required 3 karats, nothing more!'

Bunny just shrugged. "Well, this pile has just been sitting around collecting dust. Plus, I have a shipment of new metals to pick up next week."

"I—I have no idea how to thank you," Yuki whispered as unshed tears welled in her eyes, "I could never compensate the favor you bring us. The orichalcum-silver alloy is phenomenally expensive, especially as pure as these. I could never—"

"Yuki, any of Frostbite's friends are mine too," Bunny repeated, "Not only that but this will help Frostbite and his mates out of that hellhole."

"Thank you."

Bunny chuckled, picking up the bag with ease. "Now, off to the pools?"

Having no choice but to follow, Yuki tailed him. Nevertheless, it didn't stop her from being entranced in the Warren's beauty once more.

As she passed through the meadows of flowers, she couldn't help but think of Jack frolicking through his Sanctuary. As she passed through the line of eggs jumping in the river, she couldn't help but think of Jack settling himself into Lady Nature's pool months after uncovering his memories. As she passed through the trail encompassing the Warren, she couldn't help but think of Jack dashing across stone laden paths as he was chased by Ciara and Bedelia.

The tears she tried to hide fell down her cheeks, dropping to the ground in crystals. So much pain from such happiness, it tore Yuki apart.

Why had everything changed?

"Aster?" Yuki's call stopped the Pookan in his tracks, which caused the woman to hesitate. "W-wi-will w-we—nevermind." She shook her head, giving up on trying to finish her sentence.

"Will we what, Yuki?" Bunny questioned, "Yuki?"

She didn't want to think about it, yet she couldn't stop. "Will we be too late?"

"What do ya mean?"

The woman lifted her gaze, watery blue connecting with fiery emerald. "You are correct to say I have failed him numerous times." More ice drops fell as she sunk to the ground. "He's been Hel's captive for nearly half a century, been married for 3 days to a woman that sexually abuses him, been the leader of a war against his own comrade, been beaten by the vengeful spirits that were his solace, been the target of numerous assassination attempts, been—"

"Yuki," Bunny smoothly interjected as he crouched down, gently tilting her head up. "Look, I was in the heat of the moment when I said that. I've had too much of a time to think, but I learned something." He paused to pick a nearby flower, placing it in the immortal's shaky grasp. "See this flower?"

Yuki gently touched its petals, causing swirls of frost to dust its edges. "What of it?"

"Flowers represent life and hope," Bunny resumed, pulling at one of the carpels of the plant, "But, they need someone to plant the seed. Yuki, did Jack have any gumbies when you met him?"

"No," Yuki tersely answered, "I was the first who did not abandon him."

"Doesn't that make you the one who planted his life and hope into the soil?" The Pooka's smile fell slightly when he saw the other's scowl.

"I may have planted the seed; however, I allowed it to be demolished by birds." Yuki promptly rose, dusting herself off. "If I had not before, then I certainly have now." To emphasize her point, she crushed the flower in her hand with a crunch, letting its frosted remains fall to the ground.

"Yuki—"

"I will not waste valuable time to toy with the effects of my errors," Yuki grounded out, "Aster, please lead me to the pools so I can depart swiftly."

 _After all, I cannot do more than destroy._

Blinking rapidly, Bunny jumped up. "Sheila, we're already here."

Following his gaze, she finally noticed the rushing waterfall that emptied at a small pool with rivulets streaming from it. She then looked at the Pookan, his fur still matted with swirls of paint, then hesitantly peered at the water.

"Whatcha doing? I thought you wanted to get it over with quickly," Bunny commented.

The winter immortal rolled her blue eyes. "I would if it were not for your hatred of the cold."

"I'll be fine grooming myself further off." With that, Bunny hopped to the other side of the pool and splashed into the water.

Yuki dipped her foot in said water, raising her kimono up as she sunk in. Quick enough to make an ice raft around her to keep her afloat, she immediately began scrubbing away the dried up paint. After a while, however, she felt Aster's stare bore into her, and she paused.

"What is it?" Yuki snarked.

After a moment of silence, Aster spoke, "I don't understand cha, Sheila."

"How so?"

"For one, you change your mood so fast." Aster sighed. "I'm not saying you're bipolar, and hell you aren't, but you seem to try and pull out a mask when you catch yourself revealing too much. Can we just talk? Without you hiding?"

"Why would I ever do so, Aster?" Yuki remarked as she continued cleaning her clothes, "You have never shown me nor Ou-sama kindness unless it is for your own gain."

"What?" Aster's surprise made Yuki scoff.

"Oh please, have you not thought I would realize?" Yuki jested, halting her task, "You only started to tolerate Ou-sama once you saw potential in him. Not only that but you warmed up to me now after weeks of resentment."

Bunny let out a deep breath, as if remorseful. "I always see my problems too late," he admitted, running a paw over his long ears, "I shouldn't've been such an arse to you nor Frostbite, and I'm trying to redeem myself."

Yuki peered at him once more before moving down to brush off the flakes of paint at the hem of her kimono. However, she didn't miss the crestfallen look the Pooka gave her as he went to brush his own fur clean. After all, it was blatantly obvious that he sought forgiveness

Little did he know that she felt the same way.

* * *

 **Whelp, this is one hella long chapter. I thought it was short, then I saw it had nearly 4k words lmao. Anywho, I'm not in my usual chiterry self, so Ima just sign off rn!**


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